A Blossom with Reason
by Tanya Lilac
Summary: For Neji and Tenten, it had always been about their indefinable relationship, sometimes too complicated to bear. For Daichi, it had always been about Tenten. Paper Shuriken's Prequel.
1. Innocence

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Innocence**

Tenten woke, feeling heavy and weary. Her nose was red and stuffy, her eyes were red and bloodshot, there was not a drop of moisture on her lips or in her mouth, and her head pounded when she tried to sit up. After she tried to sit up, she saw nothing but sparks, and gave up. There was no longer any point in denial.

Tenten was _sick_.

There was a frantic pounding on the door. After a few more knocks, Mai swept graciously into the room, and opened the curtains with a sharp snap, letting the harsh sunlight stream through.

"Tenten!" She exclaimed when she saw her daughter's face. "Are you okay?"

"No!" she groaned, and had quite a long coughing fit.

"Aww… my poor baby!"

Mai fussed and fussed and fussed for a long while after that, and Tenten, despite being grateful for her mother's ministrations, felt in need of fresh air before long.

"I need… air!" Tenten gasped.

"_Oh_! Of course!" Mai turned around and opened her daughter's bedroom window, and turned back to fuss some more. To her shock, young Tenten was no longer in her bed- she'd bolted out the door, with her blanket around her body, and was currently sitting on a bench, in the sun, in the front garden.

"Tenten!" Mai shrieked, running haphazardly over to her ill daughter. "What are you doing?"

Tenten panted (completely over exerted) as she mumbled incoherently and leaned back on the column behind her.

"What was that, Tenten?"

"I'll be fine in the sun." Tenten sighed. After some fretting, Mai went back into the house and continued her housework, leaving her daughter to rest.

A pair of inquisitive green eyes peered over the picket fence.

An eleven year old shinobi- a weapons mistress in training, Tenten was very, _very_ observant. She opened her eyes, and the other eyes disappeared.

They played this game for over three days- her watcher seemed to come and go.

On the fourth day, Tenten was out in the sun; once again, kneeling in the grass as she sipped at the bitter medicine Mai had brewed for her.

She seemed to be very relaxed, but her eyes stayed open, and she searched for her watcher.

"Who are you?" she asked slowly, softly- she knew that the person was there.

The green eyes, partially hidden by a scruffy navy blue fringe, became more visible after obvious hesitation.

"Well, what are you waiting for-" she smiled warmly. "Come on in- introduce yourself!"

The boy shuffled past the gate. He held his hands behind his back as he bowed, introducing himself with a blush and a mumble.

"Daichi." He said softly. "My name is Yori Daichi."

"I'm Tenten!" the girl replied, holding out her hand for him to shake.

He took it shyly and shook her hand daintily.

Tenten smiled warmly, and Daichi looked away for a few moments before handing her a single flower, and dashing away.

It was a perfect, white freesia.

Tenten touched the blossom in wonderment, finding the delicate fragrance from the petals very soothing.

_Yori Daichi_, she mused quietly with a shrug and a smile.


	2. Friends

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Friends**

The next week, when Tenten was feeling much better than before, she decided to seek out her new companion- Daichi. After asking her mother some questions, Tenten discovered that he lived directly across the road! He was their new neighbour, Mai had explained, so she and Tenten had better go and make him and his family welcome.

Mother and daughter pulled on their aprons (well, Mai forced her unwilling eleven year old daughter into one) and baked a rather large sponge cake. As Mai dusted a thin layer of icing sugar on top, she instructed her daughter to go and change into a dress- that pink one, with the lily printed on the side.

Tenten had adamantly protested.

"I am _not _wearing a dress!"

"Well please _don't _wear pants, and wear a lady-like shirt- something with flowers on it, like that baby blue one with the lily on the side."

"The last time I wore that shirt, I told you I never would, ever again … I do _not _appreciate people staring at me." Tenten muttered darkly as she headed for her bedroom.

---x---

Tenten's face was masked with a serene smile as her mother handed her the cake, and rang the doorbell. She tried not to think about how Mai had just forced her into the light skirt she now wore, along with the aforementioned top.

A woman- older than Mai- answered the door and smiled in joy when she saw her new guests.

"Hello!" she said in a smooth, melodious voice. "How can I help you today?"

"Well, we came to welcome you to Konoha as your neighbours." Mai greeted. "My name is Mai, and this is my daughter, Tenten."

"Oh… so she's the mysterious lily Dai kept talking about." The woman smiled. Then she gasped. "Where are my manners? Come inside, quickly- we wouldn't want Tenten or Mai to catch a cold now, would we?"

The woman introduced herself as Yori Misaki, and thanked her new neighbours for the cake.

"Why don't you go and see Daichi? He's in the workshop with his father." Misaki suggested.

"Thank you," she smiled gratefully with a bow and walked away.

"She's very polite," Misaki said to Mai.

Mai smiled.

"She's a dream."

Tenten walked cautiously into the workshop, where Daichi and his father, Kiyoshi, were hard at work. The boy sensed her approach, however, and put it away.

Tenten did not ask any questions.

"Hello, Yori-san," Tenten greeted, looking around at all of the mysterious objects of the workshop.

Kiyoshi chuckled.

"You need not call me by that name, my lily." he said. Tenten looked at him. His careworn face bore the traces of many lines, especially those of laughter. She liked this man, who smelled of metal, work and honesty. "Call me Kiyoshi." He said, and patted her on the head. "Why don't you and Dai go outside?" he suggested. "Those clothes would surely get stained in here, and I'm sure Dai wants some fresh air."

"I don't mind if them gets dirty- besides, I have clothes underneath." Tenten said, at the same time Daichi replied, "I'm fine in here!" they looked at each other and blushed.

Kiyoshi laughed yet again.

"Alright- take a seat, you two." He gestured to the two stools opposite his bench.

Tenten and Daichi sat on the bench- Tenten in a humble charcoal grey shirt and navy blue pants. The other clothes hung on the hook in lieu of the apron she now donned over her clothes.

"So… what do you do here, Kiyoshi-san?" Tenten asked.

"I work with metal."

Tenten's eyes lit up.

"But I do not make it to harm others, however." He said solemnly. "I make it into works of art."

He unveiled the shiny, smooth, twisting pieces of jewellery, with both precious and semi precious stones set between them.

"They're beautiful," Tenten sighed. "How do you make them?"

Kiyoshi smiled fondly. The light in her eyes was not from greed- as many people had come to his doorstep with the same look in their eyes- but from a love of steel. But it would not be delicacy that would win her heart- it would be blades of slashing, singing steel- he could tell by the calluses upon her palm that she'd already begun fashioning her own weapons- an art form in its own right.

He winked at her.

"Ask Dai here- he's my apprentice. He's a more patient teacher than I'll ever be."

"Really?" Tenten looked at Daichi's father. He seemed to be a good-natured person, quick to laughter and smiles.

Daichi shuffled uncomfortably.

"I think I hear Misaki calling us- we'd better go back in."

Tugging on the skirt and top ruefully, Tenten followed father and son back into the house for lunch.

---x---

The next day, Tenten was sitting at her desk (an assigned seat beside Hyuuga Neji, much to her dismay), when there was a timid knock on the door. The babbling teacher left the room for a few moments, and the murmurs began.

Tenten smiled, thinking about target practise in the afternoon. She didn't know many people in her class- they all seemed to ignore her, thinking she was too 'ordinary' – which she was, put, quite literally, next to Hyuuga Neji. Neji never talked to her, and she was never inclined to make an effort to initiate conversation, so basically, they sat in their own little worlds.

The teacher returned, with a scruffy haired youth behind him. Tenten recognised that navy blue hair, and beamed. Daichi saw her, and bit his lip, although he did stop fidgeting.

He was introduced to the class, and sent to sit on the other side of Tenten, and stares and whispers followed him where he went.

"Hey Daichi!" Tenten greeted. "You didn't tell me you were enrolling!"

She didn't notice the sudden interest Neji seemed to have in the conversation.

"I didn't know either." Daichi mumbled.

"Oh." The conversation lapsed into a thoughtful silence. "How did your father take it?"

Daichi smiled faintly.

"He was fine with it, but he said I couldn't come into the workshop and waste his precious steel on weapons."

Tenten smiled.

"We're not having weapons practise until the afternoon… Right now, though, we're just learning about ninjutsu-"

"Tenten." Neji said sharply, cutting into the conversation.

Tenten turned and looked at the famed prodigy. Had he, he who was not of many words, just said her name?

"Stop talking." He said curtly, before turning back to his work.

Rolling her eyes, Tenten turned back to Daichi, who gestured at the Hyuuga.

Tenten shrugged.

"I'll tell you later." With a sigh, they turned their attention back to their teacher, and repressed yawns.

At lunch, Tenten approached Daichi- he was sitting on his own, beneath the old oak tree.

"Hey, Daichi," she said, sitting beside her. Daichi was drawing on a piece of paper, and was going to put it away.

"May I?" she asked, and he handed her the page. It was a detailed sketch that featured a crown, set with jewels and twisted into fragile spirals.

"It's very beautiful," Tenten commented. "Are you making that?"

"… Yes," Daichi admitted. "My parents will be setting up the shop soon, so I will need to help them as much as I can now."

"So why are you in school?"

Daichi hesitated, and searched Tenten's eyes. All he could see was the warm brown colour; so much like chocolate, and filled with life and trust. She was different to others.

"My parents saw that I had shinobi traits; chakra being only one of them… so they didn't want it to go to waste."

"Oh. Okay then." Tenten smiled and shrugged, accepting his answer.

"Hey… Dai!" A young girl walked boldly up to the pair, waving madly.

"Hi…" Daichi replied, puzzled.

"Don't you know who I am?" the girl asked.

"Um… no." Daichi said.

She laughed, but it was very transparent- its equivalence was something somewhat like a slight uplifting of the corner of the mouth.

Taking a seat beside the newcomer, the young girl continued to chat quite loudly with the boy, and smiled and laughed whenever he spoke, even if there was nothing funny about it.

He was saved by Tenten.

"Hana?"

"Hmm?"

"There's a bee in your hair."

There was a moment of silence, and then Hana ran off, screaming loudly.

"Thanks for that," Daichi sighed. "How do you manage to take that every day?"

"I don't." Tenten shrugged. "They don't talk to me; I don't talk with them. It's mutual, so they leave me alone."

"Are you ever lonely?"

Tenten was silent.

Daichi took that as a yes.

"You don't have to be, anymore."

"Why?"

"Because I'll be your friend."

Tenten smiled.

"Thanks, Dai."

---x---

That afternoon, as the class divided into groups for weapons practise, both Daichi and Tenten learned something about the other.

He learned that her accuracy was deadly. She learned that his was … not.

Patiently, Tenten guided him through the techniques of shuriken throwing with the new blades their sensei had given him.

"How come you're so good at this, Tenten?"

Tenten laughed.

"I practise. There's no magical talent to it; I just practise non-stop. You need to familiarise yourself with everything about the weapon, not only in your head but with your hands, so that you are ready, in a split instant, to aim and fire without hesitation."

To prove her point, Tenten's arm whipped out, and the kunai was embedded in the bullseye, soundlessly.

Daichi gaped, and Tenten smiled at his reaction.

"It has to be a second nature for all shinobi, because if you're low on chakra, whatever is around you are all that you have left to use to defend your life…" The kunoichi paused, twirling the kunai. "Okay, so… we'll just start with the basics. Firstly, you want to hold the shuriken like this…"

The pair trained long after school was over, and everyone had left- with the exception of one other. Hyuuga Neji stood at the other end of the range, continuing to practise on his own. Tenten, as she rested and packed up her belongings, watched his stances and the way he moved.

"Tenten?" Daichi called.

"Yeah- I'll be there in a minute."

Walking briskly up to him, and maintaining eye contact, Tenten approached the prodigy.

"You're doing it wrong, you know." Tenten said matter-of-factly. "You need to hold it more like this…"

Tenten quickly rearranged Neji's hold on the shuriken deftly. His hands were slender and pale against her own, but she didn't seem to care. Their eyes met for a moment, and Tenten blushed and looked away.

"I'm sorry," She mumbled. "I just thought you'd like to know."

With those words, she ran to catch up with her friend, and Neji was left, staring at the brave young girl with puzzled eyes before turning his attention back to throwing her shuriken. He was more than a bit surprised when he felt a definite change in the ease of aim and timing, and frowned.

"Tenten." He mused quietly to himself, and the kunoichi sneezed.

That evening, Tenten was getting ready for bed when there was a tap on her bedroom window. Silently sneaking back, Tenten cast out her senses, discovering that no one was there. She opened her windowsill, and a blue and yellow iris lay on the edge, a pale pink ribbon tied around its stem. Knowing who the sender was, Tenten smiled.

"Goodnight, Dai." She murmured.


	3. Gratitude

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Gratitude**

Daichi's twelfth birthday came around a few months after he moved in. Tenten was lying on her bed, wondering what to get for him- and frowned. He didn't need flowers, and she could tell he wasn't keen on becoming a shinobi (even though he had progressed with incredible speed- he was now at the average shinobi level of the class, despite the fact that most of them had attended the school since they were six) - it was more of just a familial obligation to his parents, and he was more than happy with his current (albeit meagre) supply of weaponry. A present for Daichi, she mused, would need practical purpose, and something he doesn't already have.

"Tenten?" Mai came into the room. "What are you doing in here?"

Tenten sat up.

"I'm thinking of a gift to buy for Dai- it's his birthday tomorrow, and I don't know what to get for him."

Mai sat down on the bed.

"Well, what would he like?"

"I don't know- he likes flowers, but his father is a jeweller. He's a shinobi but doesn't like to harm anything- what I want to get him is something practical and something he doesn't already have…" Tenten trailed off.

"Why don't you just ask him what he wants for his birthday?"

Tenten sighed as she recalled asking him the same question.

---x---

"_So, what was it you wanted to ask me?" _

"_Well, I wanted to know what you wanted for your birthday." Tenten said, getting to the heart of the matter._

_Daichi smiled._

"_It doesn't matter, Tenten- so long as you're there to tell me happy birthday." _

"_But Dai-"_

"_No buts." Daichi said firmly. _

"_Oh my god- it's DAICHI!" a girl with pigtails dashed up to him and jumped into his arms. _

"_Do I know you?" he asked, putting her gently on the ground. _

"_Well…" The girl giggled. "No. But I am like your biggest fan!" _

"_Fan? What for?"_

"_Well… you're only one of the most eligible bachelors around- especially since Neji-kun doesn't show any interest in talking to anyone, but that doesn't mean I can't like you both, right?" _

"_Okay then…" Daichi began to back away._

"_OH right! My name is Hana, by the way, and I see you all the time- I even watch you turn your bedroom lights off at night, and then you wake up, and then you turn them on… and off again… and then you get a drink so you turn the lights back on… and then you get back into bed and turn them off again…" The girl's dreamy smile faded as the two other children ran off._

"_Now that was scary." Daichi said, panting._

"_Yeah." Tenten agreed. _

"_So what were we talking about before her?"_

"_I don't know…" Tenten muttered, and something caught Daichi's attention._

"_So what's the deal with the Hyuuga? He never seems to talk, and you never told me what happened with him."_

"W_ell I haven't heard much- I think he's just lonely sometimes because something happened to him as a child …" _

_As if he had heard her, the Hyuuga looked up and gazed at her with those piercing white eyes. Tenten kept his gaze steadily, and after a few moments, he moved away with a frown on his face._

---x---

"Well I did ask him already, but he didn't say anything." Tenten said, grounding her teeth in frustration.

"Ah… well… get dressed- we're going shopping." Mai said, opening her daughter's wardrobe. There wasn't so much of a variety- her daughter had taken to liking Chinese collared shirts, and had thrown away some of the dressier shirts that she'd previously owned.

She sighed.

"I'll leave you to it, then- but we're leaving in fifteen minutes, okay?"

---x---

Mother and daughter left the house, as planned, and headed for the market place, Mai pointing out things that Tenten flatly refused.

"How about some weapons? I know you kids like playing with them." Mai suggested.

"Dai doesn't." Tenten dismissed.

"Clothes?"

"I don't know his size- even then, it's too weird."

"A comb?"

"Too practical." The kunoichi shrugged.

"A kite?"

"It's a waste." Tenten looked at the stall across the street, but found nothing interesting.  
"A spinning top?"

"He doesn't play with those kinds of things…"

"A mask?"

"What use is that?"

"A coin purse?"

"He just got one."  
"How about hand guards?"

"… No. He's getting a pair from his parents."

After a few hours of the same, constant questions and answers, they resigned, and had lunch to rest their feet.

After ordering her meal, Tenten looked out onto the street, and her eyes unfocused as her mind wandered.

"Tenten?" Mai prompted.

"Hmm?"

"What are you thinking about?"

Tenten blinked, and did a double take on an object that was being sold across the street.

"A bonsai!" she said.

Mai frowned.

"Do you want one?"

"No- I meant as a present for Dai!" Tenten clarified, and as soon as their meal was finished, they purchased a camellia bonsai- it was Tenten's choice, as Mai knew that her advice was not all that welcome.

"So… why did you buy a camellia? Isn't that a bit… feminine?" Mai asked when they got home, Tenten quickly and neatly wrapping up the bonsai kit that the vendor had also given them.

"Well, no. Not to him- he understands, and so do I- it's… more like a game we play."

"A game." Mai echoed, a note of disproval creeping into her voice. "You shouldn't play with his feelings like that, Tenten-"

"It's not that kind of game!" Tenten interrupted. "He sends me flowers! That's all!"

A silence lapsed, and Tenten rearranged the bonsai on the table. It was already twelve years old, and lovingly pruned.

"So, what flowers has he sent you, then?" Mai asked casually. "Roses?"

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"No, mother." She said, gritting her teeth as she walked to her bedroom. Mai followed her.

"What, then?"

"He gives me lilies…"

"And what do you give him?"

Tenten smiled.

"In return for the flowers, I give him weapon making lessons and training sessions."

Mai gasped, and Tenten shut the door with a sigh.

---x---

Daichi woke early the next morning, rays of sunlight filtering in through the window. He was instantly aware of the other presence in his room.

In a split second, the kunai was out from under his pillow and he flung it in the intruder's direction. They caught it and threw it back in the time it took Daichi to blink.

"Your reaction time is still a little too slow," Tenten said, coming out of the shadows. "But you've improved." She smiled.

Daichi smiled back.

Tenten held up her hand to motion that he was silent. She cocked her head to the side and tensed, and leapt up onto the window sill, her silhouette glowing golden around the edges in the morning sun.

"I'll be back in a minute," she sighed. "My mother is coming to check on me."

Tenten returned a few moments later, jumping in from the window.

"Morning, Dai!" Tenten said, jumping onto his bed. She was still in her pyjamas, and Daichi blushed. "Happy birthday!" she said with a smile.

"Thank you, Tenten." He replied, looking at the kunoichi sitting at the foot of his bed. Her hair was still sleep tangled- he knew that his was no better- and she wore a pair of three quarter length pants with a t-shirt. "Why are you here so early?" he asked after a moment.

Tenten sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I wanted to give this to you before school- I didn't want it to get it crushed…" Tenten handed him the small bonsai in the white pot the size of a large coffee mug.

As soon as Daichi saw it, he knew what it was.

"A camellia?" he asked, taking the pot from her hands. He gently touched one of the leaves. "Thanks, Ten." He said, placing the pot on his beside table and hugging her.

Blushing, Tenten moved away, glancing at the bonsai. She gasped.

"The bonsai…" she said, pointing.

Daichi looked, and bit his lip.

"Well, about that…" Daichi looked back at the blossoming bonsai. The camellias filled the room with its sweet scent, and Daichi stretched back on his bed, yawning.

"You know how everyone has their signature jutsu?"

"Well, yeah- everyone except me." Tenten grumbled as she stretched out beside him, watching him intently with wide eyes.

Daichi sighed. "Anyway, my jutsu is with plants- I can immediately accelerate or decelerate the growth process, or control it in any way that I want."

"So where does it come from?" Tenten asked. "Your parents don't have chakra…"

"My great grandfather did. Somehow, it skipped quite a few generations- but our family has been metal smiths for a long time- even before that, so nobody's worrying, really."

Tenten sighed and her eyes drifted shut.

"Ten?"

"Mmm?" Tenten murmured.

"What did you want for your birthday tomorrow?" Daichi asked, even though he had already gotten her a present.

Without opening her eyes, Tenten smiled.

"Surprise me." She mumbled. "Only not like this, because my mother would seriously freak out."

Mentioning her mother must have reminded her that she wasn't supposed to be there, and Tenten sat up, sighing wistfully.

"See you at school, Dai." She said, gently touching one of the blossoming camellias on the bonsai as she left.

Daichi read the card quickly and smiled.

Something told him that this birthday would be the best one yet.


	4. March

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**March**

Tenten woke on March ninth, with a bundle of daffodils sitting in an ornate vase on her bedside table. She frowned. Daichi was getting much too good at this whole sneaking in thing.

Looking at the vase, she saw that there were a few stands of silvery colour inside, twisting endlessly inside the glass, and stared, in awe, for a few moments. She knew that Daichi had made it- his mark was engraved on the base, and she'd never seen anything so unusual.

A silver ribbon was also tied around it, with a small note attached. It read, "Happy 12th Birthday, Tenten – Dai." The kunoichi smiled and stretched, pulling her bed sheets straight and unlocking her window, she quickly changed and left the house, with a pair of katana in her hands.

Daichi met her on the training grounds, and she threw a sheathed blade at him. Smiling a challenge, she said, "Loser owes the winner three things."

"Deal," he shrugged simply. "Do they have an expiry date?"

"Whatever you want ..." Tenten removed the sheath, placing it beneath the oak tree, and did a few warm up exercises. "No." she said, after a moment. "But it doesn't matter, because I'll win today, at any rate."

"You're confident." Daichi noted.

"I'm not the only one- you snuck into my room last night, when I had locked my window." Tenten smirked.

"You left the bathroom window open." Daichi retorted.

"I didn't give you…" Tenten began, swinging the blade at her sparring partner in a practised motion. "… Permission to do so."

"I didn't ask you to come into my room yesterday." Daichi pointed out.

"That's an entirely different matter." Tenten blocked his parries and feints.

"How is it?" Daichi asked.

Tenten sighed. "Oh- nice try trying that trick I taught you last week- you just need to apply more of a twist like this…"

Tenten pirouetted and the blade sung as it whipped towards him with twice as much force and speed.

With a smirk, Daichi stepped back, but Tenten had seen it coming, and released the blade and it flew straight at him. The youth deflected it with a clean swipe, and Tenten did a smooth cartwheel and caught the blade with one hand before it touched the ground, and settled once again into a defensive stance.

"Wow. It's a bit showy, though." Daichi scoffed, and Tenten pulled a face at him. "Anyway, Tenten, what were you saying?"

"Oh, nothing." She smirked. She could tell that the blade was beginning to grow heavier in Daichi's hands; he was gripping it so tight that his knuckles were paling.

"Don't grip it so hard- you need to hold the hilt firmly, but allow room for flexibility, and so that the shock doesn't break your arm."

"Shock?" Daichi frowned. "What shock?"

"This shock." Tenten grinned and the katana pealed ethereally as she swung it in a deadly arc. Daichi, knowing exactly what she meant by shock, bent backwards, the blade almost nicking the skin of his stomach and swung the blade out, one handed, on its flat, wide side, and knocked her on the knees as his body twisted with the motion. Tenten fell to the ground, but before she could stand up, Daichi had thrown the blade into the soft soil beside her ear, and she felt the cool metal against her pounding ears.

Smiling down at her, Daichi smirked. Growling, Tenten swept her foot out. It connected solidly with Daichi's shin, and he fell to the ground, sprawled in the dirt beside Tenten.

Sitting up, she smiled down at him triumphantly.

"That wasn't very nice." Daichi said, huffing. "Aren't you meant to be nice to your elders?"

"You're less than twenty four hours older than me!" She retorted. Daichi stood, and offered her a hand up. Tenten took it, and picked up the two katana, cleaning them of dirt and sliding them into their respective sheaths.

"So," Daichi said. "Did you like your present?"

"No," Tenten smirked. "I threw it out the window."

Daichi pulled a face at her, and she stuck her tongue out.

"Well, Dai- I'll acknowledge the fact that you're getting older, but not necessarily growing up."

"Well, Ten-" Daichi mimicked. "I'll acknowledge the fact that you are smarter than I am, but not necessarily more intelligent."

"That made no sense!"

"I rest my case."

Tenten rolled her eyes.

---x---

Tenten walked into the classroom, and took her seat. Neji, unusually, was not there- and Daichi had gone to get a drink.

Hana bounded up to her, smiling. Tenten cocked her head and gave the other girl a condescending look.

"Tenten!" Hana wrapped her arm around Tenten's shoulders. "Have I ever told you how much I love your hair? It's so…"

"No, you've never spoken to me." Tenten interrupted, shrugging the other girl's arm off. "What do you want?"

Hana blushed furiously.

"If you take Neji-kun and Daichi away from me, I will never forgive you- and I'll stop being your friend!"

Tenten frowned, her anger building up inside her.

"You never were my friend!" she stood, slamming her palms down onto the table. "And who said that I was taking them away from you? I don't even _know_ Neji – and Daichi's my _best friend_! I have him as a friend, and nothing more than that- do not patronise me just because you simper over them both like an airhead!"

"Ahem."

"What?" Tenten snapped, turning.

Neji stood behind her, one eyebrow raised, his head slightly inclined as if to say, "What are you doing?"

"Oh my god…" Hana whispered reverently. "It's _Neji_!" With those words, she fainted, and fell off Neji's seat. After a moment of glaring down at the fan girl, Neji sat down.

"What was the yelling for?"

Tenten looked to her left. No one else was there, save for Neji on her right.

"I am talking to you, you know." Neji said coolly.

"Wow- that was a total of 12 words in the past fifteen seconds! That beat the last time by about, what- five words?" Tenten glared. "You heard perfectly what that was about. I am not in a great mood today, thanks to that _bimbo_."

Neji smirked.

"Stop it with that face, genius- it's annoying."

"Hn."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tenten asked.

"It means that I'm finding you to be quite an interesting person- no… female… has ever spoken to me like that since my mother died."

"Is that a good thing?"

"I suppose so."

"Okay then." Tenten nodded, and the pair stopped talking.

Moments later, Daichi returned and sat in his chair, noting the way that Tenten sat straighter, her mouth slightly curved, and a similar expression on Neji's face, with eyes that spoke of a quiet interest.

"What a birthday present, huh?" Tenten leaned into Daichi. "We have the Genin selector exam on my birthday."

Daichi smiled.

"You'll do fine." He replied, rubbing her shoulder. He looked over the side of the desk. "So what's the deal with Hana? She's lying on the floor there."

Tenten shrugged.

"She told me that she'd hate me forever if I took you and Neji away from her, or something like it. Oh, and she also said that she would never be friends with me, ever again."

Daichi shook his head.

"Yes, Mr Yori?" their sensei called. "Is there something you were disagreeing with?"

Daichi smiled graciously. "Of course not, sensei. I was simply doing a double take at that rather large spider on your head."

Any mention of spider to this particular teacher resulted in a mass panic attack, and the class was in hysterics.

Unfortunately, the other examiner walked into the room at the moment, and called out five names- Takumi Hana, Rock Lee, Tenten, Yori Daichi and Hyuuga Neji. The last four left the room; Hana was still on the floor, and no one particularly cared to wake her up.

---x---

Mai was surprised to see her daughter return home that day with something she hadn't left the house with- a forehead protector. It glinted in the spring sunshine, and she was instantly reminded of Tenten's father.

Tenten, needless to say, was more than shocked when her mother gave her a tight hug as she crossed the threshold of her home.

"You're growing up so soon!" Mai sighed with tears in her eyes. "And the next thing you know," she sniffed. "Oh I don't want to think about it!"

"And the next thing I know, I'll be a Chuunin!" Tenten smiled as she disentangled herself from Mai's arms.

Daichi knocked on the doorframe.

"Good afternoon, Mai-san." he said politely. "May I please come inside?"

"Sure- make yourself at home!" Mai said brightly. "I am just going to check on Tenten's birthday cake! Isn't she just so _adorable_?"

"I am twelve, you know." Tenten muttered beneath her breath. "And, still in the room."

Mai sighed as she left the lounge room, keeping the adjoining door wide open.

"So," Tenten shut the door behind her friend as he took off his shoes. "What did you think of that exam today?" They walked into her bedroom, keeping it open, for her mother's sake, and Tenten sat on her bed, playing with a cushion.

"I don't think there was anything easier. It was funny how Hana didn't graduate, though." Daichi removed three boxes from his bag, and placed them on her desk, smiling as he glimpsed the vase on her bedside table. "This one," he said, pointing to the smallest, wrapped in pink, "Is from my mother, the blue one is from dad, and the silver one is from me."

"Thank you," Tenten said, feeling suddenly emotional, and hugging her friend.

"Ten?"

"Mm?"

"Are you crying?"

Tenten sniffed, and nodded.

"Yes." Her voice came out as a muffled squeak, and she laughed.

"Are you okay?" Daichi asked.

Tenten nodded again.

"Why are you crying?" his voice was soothing.

She shrugged, feeling exhausted.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Tenten sighed, sniffing.

"Is every year going to be this disappointing?"

"What do you mean?" Daichi asked evenly, wiping away a stray tear with his thumb.

"Turning twelve wasn't everything I had expected it to be!"

With those words, Daichi began to laugh, and was soon joined by Tenten. She laughed until she cried (again) and they fell back onto Tenten's bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Hey Dai?" Tenten looked across at her navy haired friend. "What do you think turning thirteen is going to be like?"

Daichi looked at her and chuckled.

"I don't know!" he said, shaking his head. "I think it will be more about… being a teenager- a young adult- and not a child anymore."

"Hey Dai?" Tenten asked again.

Daichi smiled.

"What, Ten?"

"Do you want to make a promise when we turn thirteen?"

Daichi did not speak for a few moments before saying, very quietly, "Sure. We'll have a year to think about it, and then when I turn thirteen, you have to make me a promise- and I will, for you, the next day."

Tenten smiled.

"Sounds good."

She hadn't known how much of a vow she had made then; and neither did he.


	5. Variety is the Spice of Life

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Variety is the Spice of Life**

Tenten ran lightly through the crowded streets of Konoha, trying to dodge all of the people milling around. She couldn't believe it! Today was the day of the Genin cell assignations, and she'd seemed to have the worst luck ever that morning- first there was the domestic crisis- the tap had completely exploded, then she'd had to apprehend someone trying to, once again, steal from the Yori Jewellery Shop, and they had torn her shirt in the process, and then she'd had to go back and change, and things still hadn't stopped going wrong; they'd had to take a detour through Konoha because there had been an accident on the main road involving lots of fruit and a herd of boars- so they'd had to take the long way around.

Beside her, Daichi gently touched her arm to reassure her. They still had a couple of minutes left until the bell rang; and then another five minutes on top of that because their sensei was usually tardy to mark the roll.

They ducked under a massive barrel of grain being hefted by two large men, skidding on the gravel before running upright again in a split second. Tenten sighed. It seemed like a perfect beginning to a terrible day.

---x---

The pair arrived in the classroom with moments to spare. Neji smirked at them as they sat down, and the door slid open once again, their teacher walking in.

"Rough day?" Neji asked.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Wow- you're making a habit of becoming more talkative, I see."

She answered to her name. "And," she added, "you have no idea."

Neji reached up and plucked a piece of bracken from her hair. Holding it up to her face, he raised an eyebrow.

Daichi filled in the silence for her.

"You don't want to know." He smiled, and Neji stiffened.

Tenten fiddled with the diamond lilly pendant on the white gold chain that Misaki had given her (Kiyoshi had given her a matching set of earrings, a ring and a bracelet) - she'd dropped by to say thank you that morning- as she waited for their teacher to get to the point, and announce the teams.

"So… who do you think you'll be teamed with?" Tenten asked Daichi.

"I don't mind," he said contentedly, "as long as I'm not teamed with Hana. But, knowing my luck, I think I will be."

"She'd be happy with that," Tenten smiled.

"I know I wouldn't be." Daichi muttered darkly.

"… Team Seven…" their sensei said. "Hana."

Tenten glanced at the other girl. She had graduated yesterday only because of a large sum of money donated to the school. Tenten rolled her eyes, sighing disgustedly.

"Daichi." Their teacher said, and Hana jumped in the air, shouting with joy. Daichi just hid under the table.

"And Katsuro."

Hana slumped onto her table, and Katsuro sighed, crossing his arms. Tenten, later in life, would compare him to Shikamaru.

They left the room with a tall red headed female Jounin, and Daichi looked back despairingly at Tenten.

"Just your luck, huh?" Tenten muttered, and Daichi sighed.

"I wouldn't want to be in his place, though," Neji said, stating the obvious.

"And they called you the number one rookie in Konoha." Tenten muttered, drilling a senbon steadily into the solid wooden desk.

Fifteen minutes later, there were only four people left in the room- Hyuuga Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee and their teacher, who looked up, seemingly startled that they were the only three left.

"Well, I guess that leaves you three with Maito Gai. He should be here soon- good luck, because I have to go and take another class." With those words, the teacher left, and Tenten sighed, the senbon falling through the wood.

"Congratulations," Neji said sarcastically.

A second later, their new teacher burst into the room with a blinding white flash- he was smiling, Tenten realised, shielding her eyes.

"Good morning my new youthful students! Follow me!" He left the room, and Rock Lee followed him immediately.

"Oh I feel the start of a new and beautiful relationship," she said sarcastically. "Don't you?" she asked, looking at Neji.

He grunted, not appreciating her sarcasm.

"Oh cheer up, Neji!" Tenten laughed. Neji was affronted by the familiarity with which she used his name; and wondered if she was just another fan girl, playing it cool for a while. He was proved wrong time and time again in the next five minutes; Tenten was silent, keeping track of their green spandex clad teacher in the corridor in front of them, and quickly incapacitated three fan girls who jumped out with a long ruler leaning in the corridor before Neji had registered his instincts to (_fleerunhide_) defend himself.

Tenten, he mused. She was different.

---x---

Team thirteen had reached a meeting place- which Maito Gai, their leader, had proclaimed would be their designated meeting area for the rest of the time in which they would be a cell.

They started off with get-to-know-you exercises, much to Tenten and Neji's dismay. Maito Gai introduced himself as "Konoha's Prideful Green Beast" and used terms such as youth, used after a term such as "exploding" or "blossoming". Tenten flinched when he called her a flower- the use in this context was disturbing; Misaki and Kiyoshi had called her that sometimes, even Daichi… but never anyone else. Until now.

Tenten sat between Lee and Neji- and explained her lifetime dream to her team mates. There was no notable reaction; just a kind of nodding of the head to acknowledge her goals. Tenten sighed. Maybe they thought of her as another second-rate kunoichi, aiming too high for her reach. Then, she registered how much she thought of herself, and realised that they seemed to accept who she was, without delusion or deception. They were her team mates, and she would be stuck with them for the next few years.

The relaxed atmosphere faded when Lee announced his dream to show the world that one could become a great shinobi without the use of Genjutsu or Ninjutsu. Neji, oozing arrogance, had retorted with a definite hint of fatalism in his voice, and Tenten shrank back at the sudden rising levels of testosterone. In that moment, she wondered how Daichi was doing.

---x---

Daichi stared at his swearing team mate Katsuro, the stalking fan girl Hana, his perfectionist sensei, and sighed. He was sure Tenten was having a much better time of it that he was.

---x---

Tenten sighed and walked into Daichi's house (it was now like her second home) - Mai was out shopping, and she felt like she needed someone to talk to.

Misaki was home, cooking in the kitchen.

"Good afternoon, Misaki-chan!" Tenten greeted.

"Hello, Ten." Misaki smiled. "How was your day?"

Tenten sighed, sitting on a stool as she began to wipe the mushrooms.

"It was absolutely terrible. You heard about my morning, right?" Tenten asked.

Misaki smiled and nodded.

"Well, there was an accident on the mainstreet- and Dai and I had to take a detour in the other parts of Konoha. We were almost late to school… and then we go assigned to our Genin cells."

"How was it?" Misaki asked, cutting up the mushrooms.

Tenten sighed.

"I was okay with the arrangement- I mean, I have Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee in my cell, and Maito Gai is our teacher… But Dai got stuck with Hana the Fan girl and Katsuro the gung-ho shinobi… and Kaoru Kenji the perfectionist."

"Ah… I see," Misaki said, smiling. "You have the arrogant rookie and the hot heads, and Dai has the stalker, swearer and stitcher."

"Stitcher?" Tenten echoed.

"You wouldn't believe what people tell me." Misaki laughed. "Kenji apparently loves to sew, even though he's a shinobi."

"Sew?" Tenten echoed once again, laughing. "Wow- I think this is the first time I've heard of a sewing jounin. Male, no less."

Misaki grinned.

"We need more men like him in the world- men who aren't afraid to do housework."

Daichi entered the kitchen, muttering a greeting to his mother and friend as he sat on the stool beside Tenten, taking a few gulps from her glass.

"I don't think I have to ask how your day went, huh?" Tenten smiled.

"Don't even joke about it. Every second word was either a swear word, or some kind of flirty joke. Or Kenji correcting our 'terrible grammar'." Daichi groaned.

Tenten laughed.

"Well, you weren't stuck between two testosterone fuelled males." She said. "Neji and Lee are on my team, and seem to be completely opposed to everything that the other believes in."

"I think it'll work out- I mean, a lot of relationships start in anger, and they remain good friends after a few initial bumps." Daichi said.

"Who said that?" Tenten asked.

"I just made it up," Daichi said, shrugging, and Misaki laughed.

"You two are giving me a headache in here – why don't you go and say hello to Kiyoshi?" Misaki reprimanded them while smiling.

They left the kitchen silently, heads bowed.

---x---

"So, what is your impression now of Hyuuga Neji?" Tenten asked Daichi hours later. He was sitting on her window sill his legs dangling off the edge.

"He likes you more than other people," Daichi said, fiddling with the leaves on the pot plant. Buds unfurled and flowers blossomed, and Tenten watched on, amused.

"How is that possible?" she asked him, blushing.

"Well, he talks to you of his own volition. And, he doesn't like me too much, if that's worth anything."

"Well it means that I won't like him very much, now will I?"

"Why not?"

"Well, I can't be friends with someone who isn't friends with my other friends."

"You might have to take that back one day, Ten. You never know," Daichi teased.

"Don't joke about it." Tenten replied darkly.

"Well, all I'm saying is that you shouldn't say anything too soon!" Daichi retorted, feigning fear at the tone of her voice.

"Yeah whatever. If I ever get with Hyuuga Neji, it'll be the day you marry Hana."

Now it was Daichi's turn to roll his eyes.

"Mmm… yeah. Whatever. Good night, Ten." Daichi handed her a flower; a Chinese Aster.

Tenten laughed sarcastically. "I appreciate your humour. I don't see you being thankful for having Hana in your life."

"Well, I appreciate you, so that's enough for me." He smiled, and daringly kissed her on the cheek before leaving.

Barely containing her smile, Tenten fell back on the bed, placing the flower in the vase; it was quite crowded now, but Daichi had transferred some of his chakra into the flower and the water to keep the flowers fresher for longer; so the daffodils were still alive.

A dreamy look flitted across her eyes, and she fell asleep with a smile on her face. Little did she know that same expression resided on Daichi's face, across the road.


	6. Soushouryuu

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Soushouryuu**

Tenten sighed when her alarm went off. The sun had not risen yet, but there was much to do. Her new sensei had begun a strict training agenda, and that required waking up at five in the morning, and going to sleep at nine thirty.

Rubbing her eyes as she got out of bed, she ambled over to the bathroom and showered, brushing her teeth and washing her hair at the same time. When she emerged ten minutes later, she was fully dressed with her hair fixed in two buns. She picked up her weapons holsters and sheathing her katana in a smooth motion after checking them, she walked out of her house, slinging a jacket over her shoulders with fruit and water in her backpack, along with extra weapons.

As per usual, Tenten was the last one there- even though it was only quarter past five, and the allotted meeting time was at five-thirty. She sighed. It was only the beginning of a long, long day.

Daichi sighed as he watched her. Already, was she pushing herself too hard for the sake of others. The long hours were draining, and she hardly saw him now, for she was just too tired when she got home, in a state of delirious happiness. She felt it was worth it, because it would give her strength in the long run. Daichi had frowned at that. It could be true, but she was still very close to her breaking limit. He worried for her.

The sun was a quarter of its way through the sky. It was nine o'clock in the morning, and she and her team had finished their 'warm up'- two hundred laps around Konoha along with other exercises. Now, it was time for their training to begin. Lee had immediately taken to training with his idol, their sensei, leaving Neji and Tenten to train together. Tenten had been nervous at first, having often seen him fight during class, but she now knew it was just as futile to attack him as well as try to defend yourself from him. He was a machine; that she had no doubt about. He could train for hours on end, endlessly criticising her and seeing flaws in everything, so she could only grit her teeth and take the abuse while trying to remember everything he'd said. She knew, however, that his comments were not intended to be cruel; he only said things when he deemed necessary, and the functionality of their cell was of utmost importance to him, so Tenten worked hard to improve, for the team. Not, she told herself, just because she wanted to prove herself to this cold prodigy.

So, slowly, Tenten improved. Everyone could see it; she no longer came home as tired as she had once been, her reflexes were quicker, she moved with the grace of a feline, ready to strike at a moment's notice, and her eyes were sharper.

There was still a problem, Neji noted one day, as he saw her cleaning her katana.

"Tenten." He said softly, sitting beside her beneath the trees. They'd been in the same cell for a few months now, and things were kind of starting to defrost between them; she no longer treated him like a stranger, and he stopped treating her like a servant. It was a gradual process that required a mutual effort.

"Hmm?" Tenten inclined her head slightly, not looking away from her work. It would be winter soon, she thought, she needed to find someway to make sure the blade did not stick with frost.

"Have you ever thought of using any summoning techniques?"

"What for?" Tenten asked, finally sheathing the blade.

"Summoning your weapons, instead of letting them weigh you down."

"Well, they do," Tenten admitted, "But I haven't thought of anything like that before… I'll read into it." She said thoughtfully.

When she said she'd read into it, she meant it. Neji knew that Tenten loved to research anything; she loved to learn about new things, especially if it concerned weapons, and he knew that she'd taken to making them in recent weeks, so she'd had to do some research for that. He had seen her exploring the depths of the library, an endless maze, with a confidence like she knew the layout like the back of her hand, like many other things.

And so, he saw her in the library on the weekend, hunting around in books, writing down precious scraps of information in her meticulous and neat hand writing. And then, he saw her navy-haired friend with her, talking with her, laughing with her as she read the passages. Neji's eyes narrowed as he saw him lean close to her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as he whispered something. It wasn't that he cared whether or not that Tenten had a boyfriend- it was just that if it affected her performance as a shinobi, and then he would have to bring it up with her.

"Hey Ten," Daichi whispered. "I think I can see Hyuuga Neji. He's watching you like a hawk."

Tenten laughed. "Stop trying to scare me, Dai," she said dismissively. "Even if he was, which I think is unlikely, it's not like I'd care."

But Daichi repressed a laugh when she pulled her rumpled shirt a bit straighter in an almost subconscious manner.

"Summoning requires a blood contract with the animal… blah, blah, blah…" Tenten frowned. "There's nothing here about inanimate objects!"

"Well, how about you just make it up as you go along?" Daichi suggested.

Tenten frowned at him. Making up techniques was risky without a guideline- it was a basic shinobi rule. The amount of chakra needed could drain you for weeks on end or, if you didn't have enough chakra, start draining your life force out of your body. People had died performing certain techniques- and that was why they'd become kinjutsu.

"Alright, not all of it, but just copy the fundamental basics." He scanned a few lines of text. "All you need is a scroll, and the characters, and the right seals- I don't think stuff like kunai would need blood."

"You know… that is actually-"

"A brilliant idea?" Daichi finished with a smile on his face.

"No," Tenten shut the book, piling them into her arms. "It's a so-so idea. Firstly, I'll need to know all of the weapons which I need, and can store in them, and secondly, the seals need to be worked out precisely."

"Well, I'll help you with that." Daichi offered, taking the books from her. She led him back through the library, on the endlessly winding path, putting away books as they walked.

"I need to plan this more…" Tenten muttered to herself. "Fire… Summoning… Boar? No… not earth bound…"

Daichi gave up trying to decipher her thoughts, and sighed, trying to see if Hyuuga Neji was still following them. He was apparently gone, and Daichi shrugged, almost dropping all of the books in the process. Tenten steadied him with her arm, and continued putting away the thick tomes with the exception of two, which she borrowed at the front desk.

"Why don't you use those scrolls I gave you for your birthday?" Daichi asked. "There are four in there."

"I guess I will- but I'll need to get everything right first before I even think of writing things down." Tenten said, leafing through the book as they walked. Daichi guided her with a hand on her elbow, and peered over her shoulder.

"Don't do that," Tenten warned, "We'll both trip over otherwise."

Well, she was half right. She tripped over a slyly placed foot of a small child, into none other than…

"Neji?" Tenten looked up. The book fell from the air, into Daichi's hands, and he blinked.

"Tenten," Neji said, with a slightly condescending smirk on his face as she removed her hands from around his neck.

"I was reading," she mumbled, trying to excuse herself "and I'm sorry for tripping… have you met Daichi?" she said, trying and failing to ease the awkwardness.

"Of course," Neji said loftily.

"Oh. Right." Tenten looked away. "Well, I was on my way home- I need to get to work on some things…"

"I see." Neji glanced significantly at the books in Daichi's arms. "Have a good weekend," he said stiffly, and walked off.

The pair continued to walk for a few moments in opposite directions. Tenten's face was bright red as she glared back at the giggling child.

"Oh that was terrible." She groaned, leaning on Daichi's arm, staggering like she had been dragged off a battlefield.

"Well I am going to drop one thing now- you or the books, and you leave me no choice; I'll have to keep holding the books." Daichi smiled, and Tenten straightened hastily. "Anyway, I don't think it went that bad."

"You don't think so?" Tenten asked. "From a male point of view?"

"Well, from a male perspective, things could have been worse- but he did ignore me for the large part."

"You didn't say anything." Tenten frowned.

"I guess, but he would have addressed me by name if he'd wanted to tell me something. As far as he's concerned, I'm your friend- and I don't matter because you're more important to him as a team mate." Daichi said.

"And that doesn't bother you?" Tenten asked.

Daichi shrugged.

"Not really. People don't seem to notice me too much."

"Well, _I _notice you." Tenten smiled.

Daichi smiled back at her.

---x---

And so, Tenten began to juggle several things- developing her new summoning technique, training (which took up two thirds of her time) and missions. On top of that, she had to deal with Lee and Neji's constant fights over hard work and being a genius, even though Neji won all the time, and Tenten went with common sense, and aided Neji's side of the argument. She didn't like to think of it as taking sides, but she'd begun to think of Lee as her younger brother. He had, one day, turned up to training an almost exact image of their sensei- Tenten and Neji could only watch as they ran off into a non-existent sunset with a wave that crashed on the shore behind them. The stunned silence had lasted two minutes, and Tenten had a sweat drop almost tattooed on her head.

Neji knew she was putting a lot of effort into developing her jutsu. He also knew that Daichi was helping her; giving her a few nudges in the right direction. Their relationship was a bit puzzling to Neji, who struggled to grasp the concept of 'best friends.' He confronted Tenten about it one afternoon as they were taking a break from their rigorous training.

"Tenten?"

"Hmm?" Tenten tilted her head to the side, her eyes still shut.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"No," Tenten smiled. "Are you interested?"

Neji was shocked into silence.

"It was a joke, Neji." Tenten laughed, knowing full well who he was talking about. "It's Dai, isn't it? You're worrying about him being my boyfriend."

"From a professional point of view," Neji said, hastily, "I was only wondering… because it could affect the team dynamics if you are focusing too much on him as opposed to-"

"Neji." Tenten turned swiftly, placing a hand on his shoulder. Neji stiffened at the intimacy of the gesture, but Tenten ignored him. "I have a dream. I want to become a strong kunoichi, and nothing will stand in my way of that. Not even a relationship with someone I love- but even so, Daichi is my best friend- nothing is happening between us, I can guarantee you that."

She moved her hand from his shoulder and sat back down, resting for a few more minutes before Neji stood, walking back into the sunshine.

"How are you going with your summoning?" he asked her when she joined him. She unsheathed her katana.

"I'll show you tomorrow." She smiled impishly.

------

The sky dawned grey and cloudy the next morning. Tenten groaned as she pulled herself out of bed. It was growing steadily darker as she left the house, the bitter cold numbing her face. Summer had left, to be suddenly replaced with winter- even though it was the middle of June.

Neji stood in the centre of the clearing, waiting for her to arrive. Tenten grimaced, gingerly removing the jacket and the meagre warmth she had gained from it.

"Oh… Hyuuga Neji…" she groaned, frustrated to no end. "I am going to kill you for making me come out and train today."

Neji smirked.

"I could have been sleeping in." she muttered. "I could have been drinking hot chocolate and having a hot sit down breakfast."

"Tenten stop stalling," he said arrogantly.

"Oh…" she balled her fists and cracked her knuckles. "You are so _annoying_!"

"You're the first female who has ever told me that."

"Every other female has been to busy simpering over you to realise how much of a prick you are!"

Neji watched with critical eyes as she the two scrolls down on each side of her, and performed the seals Tiger, Dragon, Monkey, Hare and Serpent. She paused, taking a deep breath before she crossed her arms. The rain began to fall steadily, but neither of them noticed.

"Soushouryuu!" Tenten yelled out, and the pink scrolls burst open, taking the form of two white dragons made of smoke. He saw the determination in her eyes and smirked. She had done well.

Then, it began to rain sharp metal weapons, as well as the rain. Taking a deep breath, Neji began his own move he had been working on- the Kaiten.

Tenten watched from her vantage point as Neji began to spin in rapid, smooth circles on the spot, chakra making him glow blue. The weapons all missed, save for one, but that only nicked his skin. Tenten fell gracefully back down to earth, disappointed at the outcome.

"It's a bit showy. You waste time with the dragons, and it's not good in a battle situation where there are enemies on both sides, and you have little time," Neji said softly.

"You need to work on your spinning a bit more," Tenten retorted. "You weren't spinning fast enough or long enough to keep everything tightly knit. Weapons fell through." She pointed to the slim senbon needles that had fallen through the chakra dome.

"Hn."

Tenten took this as his way of accepting criticism, and shrugged, and they began to spar once again, despite the number of weapons littered upon the ground.

---x---

"I told her not to go out!" Mai muttered when Neji returned that afternoon with Tenten in his arms. She had been sweating, obviously, and her opened pores had allowed the coldness to seep into her body. Tenten was sick, once again, for the second time that year. This time, she blamed Neji.

Neji placed her on the bed, and Mai had ushered him rudely out of the room, to change her, leaving Neji to stand in the middle of the living room. When Mai emerged fifteen minutes later, she saw him, and almost screamed.

"You're still here?" she asked, seemingly surprised.

"I'm sorry for what happened. I will supply medicine for her, if you wish."

"That is not what I wish." Mai said snappishly. "You and my daughter are working too hard- you need to let her rest for a week, and I don't care what your sensei says- I will take the matter up with him, and make him see things my way. My Tenten is sick, and she needs her rest, so shoo!" she swatted him out of her home, and shut the door on him.

"Well," he remarked to no one in particular. "I, for one, hope she was adopted."

Daichi appeared beside him, and Neji moved instinctively to attack, but Daichi nimbly dodged the blow.

"Hyuuga Neji," Daichi said. "What's wrong with Tenten?"

Neji smirked.

"She's caught a cold."

"That's not really something to laugh about- isn't she your training partner?"

"She over worked herself- she's learned her lesson." Neji retorted arrogantly.

"She over worked herself at your suggestion!" Daichi replied. "You're an arrogant, stuck up person, and I don't see why she keeps working so hard just so that you'll approve of her efforts when you don't even notice or acknowledge when she does improve!"

Neji just turned his back on Daichi, dismissing him with that single movement.

Inside, Daichi fumed- but knew he couldn't do anything, for Tenten's sake. But it would do him some good if someone taught _Neji_ a lesson.


	7. Get Better Soon

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Get Better Soon**

Tenten woke up the morning feeling indescribably terrible. Of course, this was nothing when Neji came to visit her.

"How did you get in?" she asked blearily.

"Your mother let me in with a glare." Neji smirked, looking around. He caught sight of the vase on the bedside table and knew suddenly how Tenten had gotten the inspiration to incorporate dragons into her move- the silver streaks inside the glass were exactly like those dragons.

"Why are you here?" Tenten asked.

"Don't talk too much- you'll only cough." And he smirked again, "And who said I needed a reason to come and take care of you? Lee and Gai-sensei said they'd drop by after training, but I don't really have much to do." He confessed, and Tenten sighed, crossing her arms.

"That makes me feel so much better," she sighed, "You came to see me as a last resort."

Neji sighed and shook his head. "I'll be back in a minute." He said, and left the room for a few moments.

Tenten's house was very neat, the curtains were white and floral patterned, and the cupboards were quite bare- Mai was probably going to be out for a while. He put the kettle on, pouring some tea into a large mug and added honey and sliced ginger.

He re entered Tenten's room with the hot beverage, and Tenten eyed him warily.

"That's not my mother's medicine, is it?" she asked.

Neji smirked.

"And if it is?"

"I get to throw this at you." She waved the kunai lazily, and Neji shook his head, placing the tea onto the table. Tenten sniffed at it and, happy that it was not the bitter herbs, sat up, smiling when Neji handed her the tea.

"Thank you," She smiled and blew on the drink gently before sipping it.

Neji nodded, and leaned back, crossing his arms as he watched her.

"What are you doing? You're making me nervous." Tenten grumbled.

"I'm making sure that you drink it, and then get some sleep."

"Well, look who's looking after me now- especially after making get up so early yesterday." Tenten muttered, but complied. She handed him a book, with a picture of a horse on it.

"You can't be serious, right?" Neji cocked an eyebrow at her.

Tenten sighed.

"It's a book jacket. My mother doesn't approve of my reading choices."

Neji skimmed through the pages.

"Aah. I see what you mean." Neji said, and began to read the book.

Tenten sighed and settled into the covers, placing the empty cup of tea onto her bedside table beside the vase, and fell asleep, listening to Neji's deep voice.

Neji became aware that Tenten had fallen fast asleep a while later. He placed the book mark back into the pages, and left the book on her bedside table, taking the cup of tea back into the kitchen.

There was a knock on the door, and Neji warily approached it, activating his bloodline limit. It was Daichi. Hyuuga Neji opened the door with a sigh, leaning in the door way like it was his home.

"Can I help you?" He asked arrogantly. Daichi contained his bubbling anger and met his eyes, thinking about their exchange yesterday. Neji was obviously thinking the same thing.

"Neji, what are you doing here?" He asked irritably.

"Checking on my team mate." Neji replied.

"Oh, I see- so you're the kind and considerate one now, are you?"

"Keep your voice down," Neji said. "Tenten's sleeping."

Daichi rolled his eyes.

"I came to see her," he said. "But I'll come back later- I have a team meeting to get to."

"You can come in, by all means- but there's nothing much to do now." Neji stepped back, sweeping his hand out mockingly.

Daichi sighed and entered the living room, walking past the kitchen to Tenten's room softly. He smiled gently when he saw her, and replaced the withering flowers in the vase with chrysanthemums. He leaned over her, and kissed her forehead.

"Get better soon, Ten." He whispered.

Neji watched him with his arms crossed. _Nothing going on_, he scoffed mentally. Daichi was in love with her, Neji could see it. He wondered, for a fleeting moment, if Tenten knew, and then dismissed the thought.

Daichi straightened, and ignored the Hyuuga as he left the house.

Neji took his seat by Tenten's bed, and sighed, placing his forehead in his hands.

"You know, I heard you two arguing yesterday," Tenten rolled over, looking up at Neji with baleful eyes.

She caught sight of the chrysanthemums and smiled.

"He worries too much on my behalf," she said softly. "Why can't you get along? Are you threatened by him or something?"

It was an arrow in the dark, but it hit home, but Neji was outwardly calm.

"I have already voiced my concerns on that matter," He said slowly.

"So is that why you came over today? To prove to him… or yourself, that you aren't so arrogant after all?" Tenten smiled craftily. "You do have a very large ego, though. And I try not to feed it because then you'll just keep falling over because it's all going to your head."

Neji rolled his eyes.

"Your mannerisms are strange."

"So are yours!" Tenten retorted, coughing.

Silence fell.

"You didn't answer me properly." Tenten prompted. "Why can't you get along with him?"

"I would have thought it worked the other way around." Neji replied loftily.

Tenten glared at him.

"I can send you out of my house, you know," she mumbled.

"Then who would look after you while your mother is out? Daichi went to a team meeting."

Tenten rolled her eyes and turned over in her bed.

"And, no," she said, grumpily. "I was not adopted."


	8. Mission

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Mission**

Tenten was up and about in a few days, without any other major incidents. Gai-sensei and Lee had visited her on the second day, saying something in loud and dramatic whispers about 'youth', 'flower' and 'spirit'. Mai had sent them away, smiling at Daichi and then sniffing with disproval at Neji. Tenten sighed and turned her back to them all.

She was currently sitting in the sunshine on the training grounds, watching Neji and Lee spar. It was kind of spooky- in less than eight months, Lee and Neji had improved so much that their movements were blurs. Although Lee always lost heavily, it was always after a few hours of sparring- three at least- and the Taijutsu user's attacks were now able to be seen after that three hour spar.

Tenten sighed. Next week, though, she would have her ninth C class mission. It was basic, really- their job was just to escort their client through the Grass Country on the way to Sunagakure. It would be on the Wednesday, and they'd be back by the following week, according to the plan.

She looked over at her team mates. Neji was the victor, his hair swaying in the cooling breeze, and Lee sprawled in the dirt, his green spandex jumpsuit covered in dust and grass sprayed up from his Kaiten- able to block physical attacks. He was improving, she saw, and smiled.

---x---

The next Wednesday, Tenten checked all of her weapon holsters at dawn, her scrolls at her sides. She quickly kissed her mother on the cheek as she slept, and left the house silently, locking the door firmly behind her.

She arrived at the village gates moments later, falling into formation- Tenten at the back, Lee and Gai sensei on either side of their client (a shifty looking businessman) and Neji at the front, ready to sense any danger. They stopped three times that day, mostly for their client's benefit. At sundown, the four shinobi set up camp, their client sitting amidst them, calmly observing the ninja at work.

One ninja, to be precise.

Neji watched with narrowed eyes as he worked alongside Tenten, who twitched her fingers towards the sound of water. Tenten made an excuse to go and get water, taking her weapons with her along with the water canteens and left, Neji watching as the man's eyes followed her movements.

Neji headed off in a different direction, saying something about gathering wood, and left Lee and Gai to supervise the tents and their patron.

Tenten sighed moodily, looking at her reflection in the clear water, the water bottles full beside her. Neji walked over to her and sat down.

"How are you?" he asked.

Tenten threw a senbon needle. It pinned a fish neatly to the rock. Neji smirked, knowing who she was thinking about.

"Lecherous bastard," she muttered. "He's not telling us everything, that's for sure."

Neji nodded. He had perceived some guilt or hidden thing inside the man's mind.

Tenten sighed. "I don't know if I can take another four and a half days of this."

Neji smirked.

"You're a kunoichi, right?" he asked. "I'm sure you can deal with it."

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Great advice." She said.

"Okay, fine." Neji said. "If you get too bothered by him, then-"

Before Neji could finish his sentence, he stilled, Tenten crouching instinctively. With the now familiar call of "Byakugan!" the Hyuuga activated his doujutsu and saw the problem- their camp was under attack; eight at the campsite, and another six headed their way.

Tenten glanced at Neji, who wordlessly gave the command to hide. They simultaneously jumped back into the boughs of the trees, Tenten efficiently setting up traps with chakra strings in an instant.

The six figures appeared on the other side of the water. They wore grey clothing, and no forehead protector. Mercenaries; Tenten realised. She saw one with a katana. He was hers, she knew it. Just one step closer… she willed. And one of them did step forward, the trap activating in less than a second. She blew gently on the tip of six senbon needles, and it glowed white hot, with the aid of air and acid. In a swift motion, she threw them down at the enemies and other weapons soon followed. Those who avoided them, Neji soon dealt with- except for two. They had used the replacement technique and escaped most of the damage, except for the first senbon needle. The kunoichi knew the poison was slowly corroding at their muscles, burning through sinew. The only cure was her antidote, in her medical supplies pouch with bandages and a salve.

Neji was fighting with one, and the other- the one with the katana- was sneaking up behind him. Tenten threw a kunai down at him, and he stepped back, blanching. She smiled and jumped down, eight more shuriken leaving her fingers before she landed and another eight already in her fingers when her feet touched the ground.

He smirked arrogantly at her, a cut only marring his left cheek, and yet his right arm close to being useless. The poison was acting rapidly; his heart was beating faster, sending the poison on to the rest of his limbs.

She could hear Neji and his opponent fighting, twigs and bracken breaking in their wake, and Tenten stilled. Her opponent made no move to attack.

"Ladies first," he said mockingly.

"Oh," she said, just as scathingly. "Thank you."

She unsheathed her katana, their blades bare and gleaming in the sunset. She paused, quickly spinning them, before beginning her battle.

His moves were deft and fast; he was the heavier one, but Tenten was faster, lighter and more agile than he, her footwork superb. She tripped him up in a web of chakra strings she'd spun about her feet as they'd fought, and he slashed at the air, trying to free himself. He recklessly lashed out, and cut Tenten down her inner arm. There was a cold look in her eyes, and she drove her blades through his heart, and he gurgled, blood trickling from his mouth as he fell backwards, spreadeagled. His blood had splattered across Tenten's clothes and the bloodlust faded from her mind as she registered what had happened. She looked over; Neji had won easily, his opponent on the ground. He met her eyes, and they jumped through the trees to their camp.

Lee and Gai-sensei had handled themselves well, their opponents unconscious on the floor, their client hiding in a tent.

"Tenten! Neji!" Lee said loudly. "Are you alright? We had wondered where you had gotten to!"

Neji glanced at Tenten, who had blood on her clothes. It was normal- she often had to remove blood stains from her clothes… but it was different this time.

"We were attacked at the river," he said calmly. "There were six of them."

There was a silence, and Neji walked over to the tent, and unzipped the side. Their client, predictably, was hiding meekly in his tent, clutching his precious pieces of gold.

---x---

No one said much over the next four and a half days. Gai-sensei and Lee put Tenten's sudden dampening of spirits to her tiredness- and, indeed, she was tired. She had heavy rings beneath her eyes, and her eyes lacked a sparkle, and her movements lacked energy. She was almost dead on her feet.

Needless to say, everyone was glad once they arrived in Sunagakure. Their client had been severely admonished several times as a result of the ambush- that kind of task was better suited to Chuunin- not Genin.

Neji was just glad to have a night indoors. He wondered what Tenten was thinking.

---x---

Tenten stood still, facing the village with her back to her room. Their client had left hours earlier, as had Lee and Gai-sensei. The shinobi had gone to explore the nightlife of the village, checking out restaurants and the like while their client had returned home- their mission was over. Tenten had said she was tired, and Neji had said something about having a sensitive stomach.

It was around nine o'clock, and she started when Neji came up behind her.

"Tenten," he said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She turned slightly, her eyes red rimmed.

"Tenten," he said yet again, a sense of urgency in his voice. She turned to face him properly, and he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me," he said softly.

Tenten couldn't meet his eyes. What would he see there?

"Tenten," Neji said, taking her hand. She flinched, and stepped back, hiding her bandaged arm. "It's okay," he said softly.

There was only ice in her eyes, and she turned away completely without saying a word to him. But he could read her, all too easily.

He stepped up behind her, and pulled her into his arms, holding her firmly. He felt the tremors run through her body, and they became body wracking sobs, muffled in his embrace.

Neji boldly ran his fingers through her loosened hair, and they stood silently in the shadow of the clouds that covered the full moon.

Her complete lack of apathy towards the killing of the man was not surprising- she'd never had experience with death before; her aim had been enough to only cripple, and Neji and Lee had knocked them out shortly afterwards.

She stood still in his arms, exhausted. Her shock had been the only thing keeping her upright these past few days, and now that he knew, Tenten was exhausted, and feeling (somewhere) slightly embarrassed that Neji had seen her cry. She hadn't wanted him to see her like that.

Neji belatedly realised that he was the only thing keeping her standing. Without a word, he swept her off her feet and placed her in her bad, beneath the sheets.

"Go to sleep." He murmured.

Neji made to leave her in peace, but Tenten's fingers tangled with his own.

"Don't go," she whimpered, curling into a ball. "Please… I just see everything when I shut my eyes… "

Neji resigned, and settled in the bed, on top of the covers. Tenten felt reassured, like she had when she'd been sick, and fell asleep, one hand beneath her cheek, the other placed in Neji's.

The Hyuuga sighed, shutting his eyes as he rubbed his face with his free hand, concerned for his team mate as he opened his eyes again and watched her sleep. He brushed strands of hair away from her face awkwardly and sighed yet again, and settled down to sleep.

Beside him, Tenten smiled for the first time in days.


	9. Welcome Home

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Welcome Home**

Tenten woke up, stretching and flexing slightly as she did so, rubbing her eyes with her free hand. She curled up against the warmth that was Hyuuga Neji, not feeling particularly inclined to leave the bed just yet- the starchy feel of crisp bed linen was too luxuriant to depart just now. She'd kicked off the sheets in the middle of the night, and the cool breezes had played gently upon her skin were, unfortunately, lost to the unforgiving sun that filtered through shutters. She ran her fingers along the smooth cotton of Neji's shirt and sighed. Waking up had been a bad idea. Sleeping seemed like a much better option…

Wait… Hyuuga Neji?

The thought jolted Tenten into a more aware state.

She opened her eyes and stared.

Neji's face was relaxed, not covered with that infuriating smirk and not frozen in a frown. He looked at peace with himself.

Her eyes drifted down his sharp nose, her gaze sweeping across his mouth and back up to the cheeks upon which his eyelashes rested. The eyelids were the only thing keeping her from staring directly into his eyes- something she was not that afraid to do… and it hit her. His eyes were open- barely so, but he was peeking at her from lowered lashes, and lit with a mischievous spark.

Tenten would come to learn in years to come… that waking up next to Hyuuga Neji in the morning was a very… enjoyable experience. Most days.

The Hyuuga watched as the kunoichi yawned and rubbed her head with her hand.

"You know," she said conversationally. "A lot of girls would happily give anything to be in my position right now."

Neji smirked.

"Why is that?" he asked.

"Stop playing the innocent one," she retorted. "You know exactly how half of the female population in Konoha feel about you."

"You know," he replied just as conversationally. "You are the only female my age I'm actually slightly comfortable with."

"And what about every other female our age?"

"I try not to encourage them."

Pause.

"You know what?" Tenten began.

"What?" Neji asked.

"I have something to tell you."

"Me too." The Hyuuga smirked.

"Well, you go first." Tenten prompted.

"You have bad morning breath."

"Oh, yeah," she said. "Thanks for that. Remind me never to kiss you in the mornings."

"Would you still feel that way about me after I brush my teeth?"

Flirting. After almost a year of knowing each other, the two had it down to an art. They never spoke like that around others, and rarely when alone; they were often too focused on everything else, like training or missions. But Tenten knew that he was only trying to keep her mind off other things. Memories slammed back into Tenten's mind and she fell silent.

She suddenly realised that she was still holding hands with Neji. Huh, she thought. Imagine that.

Neji appeared to realise the same thing at the same moment, and they slowly pried and flexed stiff fingers from the other.

"Sorry about that," Tenten mumbled.

Neji shifted, the relaxed atmosphere gone. They were shinobi once more; not teenagers on the brink of adulthood. He sat up, running his fingers through his hair after he tugged off his shirt.

A hand touched his shoulder blade. Neji tensed.

"Thank you," she whispered. He nodded without turning around and quickly strode off to have a shower.

Tenten fell back onto the bed. For some reason, she was dreading going home.

---x---

She realised what it was as soon as she shut her front door behind her.

_What would they think of her now that she had blood on her hands?_

Shaking her head, Tenten tried to clear her mind. Mai was out shopping- she'd seen the note pinned to the mailbox.

"Dear Tenten," it read. "I'm sorry if you get this while I'm out shopping- I wasn't expecting you to come home until tomorrow, but someone mentioned something about being ahead of schedule. Some friends are coming over at around six tonight; you can go and stay at the Yori house across the road if you want. I'll be home at around four and if you're not at home, I'll quickly drop by at their house! Have fun tonight!

Love, Mai."

Tenten snorted. It was half past two; Mai would be home in a few hours. With a sigh, the kunoichi threw her weapon holsters onto her bed and a fresh change of clothes and headed straight for the bathroom.

---x---

Tenten wasn't surprised when she found Daichi sitting on her bed. He cocked his head at her and she looked away, unwilling to say anything. Her mind registered the fresh bunch of lilies in her vase, and the new sheets on her bed.

"Hey," she said in a distant voice.

"What happened, Ten?" Daichi asked.

"Nothing. The mission went completely as planned. I'm fine." She snapped.

"No, you're not." He said quietly, standing in front of her. "You won't look me in the eye, you spent one and a half hours in the shower scrubbing at your skin enough to peel off an entire layer of skin, and you didn't clean any of your weapons, or put them away before showering."

"Okay so I wanted to have a shower first- is that against the law, now?" Her voice was as sharp as whiplash. Kneeling on the floor, she unrolled a thick cloth from beneath her bed and retrieved her cleaning kit, then unpacked all of the weapons she'd used on the mission, avoiding his eyes all the while.

"Ten," he said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her skin was pink and raw, and she flinched at his touch. "Tenten," he said more firmly.

Tenten looked up from the katana she'd tried to clean. Daichi saw nothing wrong with it, but Tenten kept rubbing the blade with the cloth, her knuckles turning white as she held it.

"What?"

She still didn't want to meet his eyes. What would he see there? Would he understand like Neji had?

"You don't have to be afraid." He said softly. "I'll see you later, then. Are you still coming over tonight?"

She shrugged.

"I guess."

They heard the lock turn with a sharp click. Tenten sighed. Her mother was home. Daichi disappeared out the window, and Tenten left her room.

Mai gave her daughter a customary, happy greeting when she returned, and asked about the mission. She gained only baleful looks and monosyllabic answers provided in a flat monotone.

An awkward silence fell.

"So… I'd better start cooking!" Mai said a bit too cheerfully. "Don't stay up too late now, okay?"

Tenten nodded, picking up her small bag. She wouldn't go to Dai's house yet. The kunoichi left her house, shutting the door firmly behind her.

She went for a walk, hoping to avoid seeing anyone she knew. Knowing her luck, Tenten bumped into Hyuuga Neji at the park.

"Neji." She said.

"Tenten."

Silence, as thoughts flickered between them.

"You're not as happy to be home as I thought you'd be." Neji said mildly as they sat down on a bench.

"Well maybe you don't know me then."

"Tenten, I'm not here to preach you about anything, but-"

"Then don't." she interrupted.

He ignored her.

"But don't keep deluding yourself. You entered this line of work knowing full well that this day would come. It's here, now- what are you going to do? Whatever anger you have, don't take it out on everyone else."

"And you'd know so much about that, wouldn't you?"

"Tenten," Neji said warningly. Their tempers were fraying dangerously.

"What?" she spat. "You think you're so _perfect_! You're so above everyone else that you can't even see your feet anymore- it's a wonder how you can even put on your shoes! It's not your place to give me words of wisdom after all the times I've had to listen to you and your sob story, and hearing about how you're going to kill everyone in the name of your father's murder! You talk about yourself like you're so great, when really, that's all you can do! _Talk_! And you don't have someone's blood on your hands, you don't have this immense guilt eating away at you; all you have is your fairytale of a life that's so damn great! You're the –"

"Tenten!" Neji snapped- his patience with her finally at an end. "You need to just stop and think for a second." He took a few deep breaths although his eyes narrowed. "Decide what you're going to do about this. You can get over this and move on, continue being a shinobi, or you can quit and forget about your dreams of becoming a Hokage of Konoha." He stopped and stood up with his back to her as he thought. Tenten hesitated and stood up, and was about to walk away when she heard Neji turn. She stopped moving. "Death is a part of what we do, Tenten," He whispered. "Think about it."

The kunoichi sighed. The sun was low in the sky; she'd probably have to go back to Dai's soon.

Later that night, after helping washing up the dishes, Tenten leaned on the kitchen bench as Misaki finished putting everything back to the way it had been before dining.

"Is there anything you need to talk about, Ten?" Misaki asked.

Tenten sighed.

"You know me more than my mother, I think."

Misaki smiled, handing Tenten a mug of jasmine tea, and they sat down on the lounges.

"Does it have something to do with what happened on that mission?"

"Well, yes." Tenten admitted.

"You know, Tenten," Misaki began. "I have seen this before."

Tenten looked at her for a fleeting moment. Her eyes were kind, her expression calm.

"It's guilt, Ten, and wrongly placed, at that. You did nothing wrong- he was trying to take your life and what you did was in your own defence. You don't have to live with it like it's a rock chained around your neck; it was his life or yours, and you did what you had to."

Tenten spun her cup around and blew onto the tea.

"You know the value of life, Ten- and that's what separates a villain from a hero. So just don't try shut everything in- everyone can help you with this, love." She kissed Tenten's forehead and went off to bed, leaving Tenten in the kitchen to think. She quickly turned off the lights and headed off down the hallway to Daichi's room. He was lying on his bed, reading. He looked at her with his unusually green eyes and turned his attention back to the pages.

Tenten shut the whitewashed door behind her.

"Dai, I'm sorry," she said softly. "I should have trusted you more and told you-"

He smiled a sad smile.

"It's okay, Ten. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"But that's the problem- I _do _want to tell you, it's just that I'm… scared."

"What are you scared of?"

"I'm scared of what you'll think of me after I tell you."

"You don't have to be scared of anything, Ten. Especially not me."

She lay on the bed beside him, her head resting against his shoulder. A warm blush spread across his cheeks.

"You're blushing," she accused, a smile in her voice.

"Well, yeah, I guess." He shrugged.

She turned and looked up at him.

"You heard me talking with your mother, didn't you?" It was more of a statement. "Do you hate me?"

Daichi put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close to him, his chin upon her head.

"No, I don't." he said quietly. "I never could."

"Are you scared of me, then?" she asked quietly.

Daichi looked down at her, smiling broadly.

"Never." His words were a challenge and a consolation.

A smile touched Tenten's face.

"Thanks, Dai." She murmured before settling down to sleep.

"What for?" he asked. Tenten felt his lips brush against her temple.

"Being the best friend I've ever had." She replied simply.


	10. Keeping Faith

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Keeping Faith**

With three months left until her birthday, Tenten began her customary countdown, only this year it was more special, and more significant with the help of one person- Daichi.

It was January 8th, and Misaki and Kiyoshi were saying a quick and slightly tearful goodbye to their son, and their neighbours.

"We'll be back in time for your birthdays, don't worry- the day after at the absolute latest, I promise." Misaki reassured Tenten. The young kunoichi didn't say a thing, but hugged her fiercely. Over the past year, Tenten had become the closest thing to the daughter Misaki had never had, and Tenten had loved her back dearly. Sometimes, Misaki had thought that the only reason the young weapons expert was so attached to her was because her own mother never quite understood Tenten and her needs… but she knew it was not her place to say something along those lines.

"Stay out of trouble, Ten," Kiyoshi murmured as she hugged him fondly.

"And you two take care of each other!" Misaki smiled. "I don't want to come home and find either of you with a broken limb because you were just 'training', okay?"

Mai kissed Misaki's cheeks lightly and they hugged briefly, exchanging swiftly whispered words as they did so, and Kiyoshi shook hands with Tenten's mother.

The two turned to their son and hugged him, one last time murmuring goodbyes.

Tenten stood apart from everyone else, eyes averted to give the trio some privacy.

Misaki took Tenten's hands briefly before getting up onto the cart beside her husband.

"Have faith, Ten." She said quietly. She smiled. "He cares about you, did you know? From the very first time he saw you- he thought you were a nymph of the forest, playing in someone's front yard, even though you were sick and wrapped in a blanket, and called you a lily right away." She petted Tenten's cheek softly. "We'll be home for your birthdays, love. Don't worry about us." She said yet again, and then took her seat.

They set off quickly down the deserted street towards the small sliver of the rising sun in the distance. Tenten and Daichi waved at his parents until they could no longer see them, and stood in silence for a few moments, her head on his shoulder, his arm around hers, like Mai wasn't even there. A moment later, she wasn't – returning to her home to fix breakfast for the pair who had insisted on waking before dawn to see Daichi's parents off.

"What did you do other times?"

Daichi smiled.

"I had to go with them because I was too young; and we'd always been moving around for as long as I can remember. It was absolutely amazing, travelling with them as they went across the countries- we met the most interesting people I've ever seen. I thought it was all amusing- a great adventure, of course, but there was always danger involved- especially from bandits, and the elements. That little caravan is awfully stuffy on a hot summer's day, and it's leaky in the rain, but it was the best time I've ever had in my life," He smiled, his face lit with the joys of his memories. "Hey, why don't you go inside? I think Mai's just made breakfast."

Tenten smiled and nodded.

Daichi smiled in response as she led him inside. It was good to have Tenten back to her normal self. Now, his only problem was this promise that he would give to her; he had a feeling both of them had almost completely forgotten about it.

---x---

"Neji-kun!"

Green spandex filled his vision- somewhere to his left.

The prodigy sighed.

"Have you heard?"

Grass bent. Someone leaned on the tree on his left.

Neji opened his eyes. Lee took this as a sign to continue.

"Tenten's birthday is coming up!"

A raised eyebrow met the shinobi's announcement.

"So, aren't you going to get her something?"

The eyebrow stayed in place.

"She's your _team mate_!"

"I am aware of that, Lee. What is the point you're trying to get to?"

"Well, I'm getting her something- won't you get her something, too?"

The raised eyebrow became a thoughtful frown.

"I was not aware. When is her birthday?"

"March ninth."

"That's three months away," Neji stated calmly.

"Of course! It's a sign that she wants us to be aware of her blossoming youth as the oldest kunoichi in our grade!" Lee paused and added slyly, "And besides, I thought that you two liked each other or something."

The arched eyebrow returned.

"And where did you get that idea from, Lee?"

The branch above their heads shifted.

Both boys looked up and met their team mate's eyes. Lee recoiled and Neji smirked. The youth with shiny hair blushed.

"Well, I saw you two together in Suna, when we got back to the hotel room."

Tenten smiled frostily.

"It was not what it looked like, Lee. And if I were you, I wouldn't mention anything about it. Ever."

"Is that a threat, Tenten?" Lee asked innocently.

"No," Tenten replied sweetly with a smile on her face. "It's a promise."

Lee gulped and Neji rolled his eyes.

After their training session for the day, Neji disappeared, leaving Tenten and Lee to collect her weapons from the wooden dummies. Tenten, naturally, was grumbling.

She wrenched the weapons from the wooden targets with a cruel twist, imagining Neji as the dummy. Lee seemed to catch her thought and chuckled.

"What's so funny?" she snapped at him.

Lee just supposed it was 'one of those days' for her. He made a mental note to bring chocolate next time.

"You and Neji," Lee remarked casually.

"What's your point?" Tenten asked as she twisted yet another kunai as it came free of the wood.

"You both say that there's nothing going on, when there obviously is."

"There isn't, Lee." Tenten said quietly. "Just forget about it, okay?"

"What happened down at the river?" Lee asked suddenly.

"Mmm," Tenten said sarcastically. "Blunt much?"

"But really, Tenten," Lee stood at her side, trying to meet her eyes. "What's been happening? You went down to the river by yourself and the two of you came back, together."

"Nothing happened," Tenten said, crossly, taking a seat on the ground. "We were separately attacked, and Neji drew the enemy towards me so we could work as a team."

Lee smiled exuberantly. "I will accept your answer, on my honour!"

"Thanks, Lee." Tenten smiled. A small portion of her mind felt incredibly guilty at lying to him… but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right?


	11. Coming of Age

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Coming of Age**

There was less than a week to go until Tenten and Daichi's thirteenth birthdays. Both said shinobi were still thinking of something to give to the other, but failing- they were both anticipating the long-awaited return of Misaki and Kiyoshi after their two month trip to Suna and stopping off at a few smaller villages along the way.

"Tenten?"

The weapons expert snapped out of her daze.

"I'm sorry," she said with such a smooth just rigid politeness only a kunoichi could muster. "Could you repeat that, please?"

"I was asking what you wanted for your birthday." Neji stated coolly.

"Oh." Tenten was silent. "You don't need to get me anything," she said quickly after a few frantic moments. Neji, offering to buy her a present? Lee was bound to be involved in this somehow.

"No, he isn't." Neji said, reading her mind with complete accuracy. "He only told me a few months ago that your birthday was coming up."

"Well, even if he was- I'd still say the same thing."

"What is it with people and never directly asking for what they want for their birthday?"

"What is it with people who always ask stupid questions?" Tenten retorted. "If you want to buy me a present, at least _try_ and make an effort to be subtle when you're asking me, or pay attention to any hints I might say about something I've been wanting for a while! Or, take a well educated guess on what I'd want – you've been sitting next to me for the past, what- eight years?"

Neji couldn't say a word- how was he meant to say to that, anyway?

"Listen, I'll give you a few pointers. I like things that have a practical value, or will last long." She sighed and glanced at her watch, and then groaned. "I have to go," she explained. "I promised my mother that I'd help her clean the house today. I'll see you tomorrow!" she called, waving and looking back. With a quick leap and twist, Tenten was gone from his line of sight.

Neji stood and, with a quick glance around him, headed off to the market place.

"I'll take that one," Neji handed the vendor the appropriate amount of money and accepted the box in which the object was wrapped in pale pink tissue paper.

"This doesn't have anything to do with Ten, does it?"

Neji turned and met the sage green eyes that belonged to Yori Daichi.

"And if it does?" Neji inclined his head slightly.

"Then let me tell you something." Daichi placed a hand on Neji's shoulder and cupped a hand around the Hyuuga's ear. Dai was skating, handcuffed, naked and with only a blindfold on thin ice. Metaphorically, of course. "Your secret is safe with me." He whispered. Neji despised the smug tone in the older boy's voice.

"What secret?" Neji scoffed.

Dai only tapped his nose knowingly and winked at him with such a melodramatic exaggeration that the prodigy could only think of Lee and Gai-sensei in that moment.

"I heard about you two in Suna."

"That wasn't what it looked like." Neji snapped.

"Oh yes it was- you were sharing the same bed."

"Don't tell me you've never had to breach social propriety for necessity? Two double beds, I didn't want to even entertain the idea of sharing one with either Lee or Gai-sensei after they'd been out eating heavily spiced foods and Tenten-"

Neji bit back his words.

"What about her?" Daichi asked mildly.

The Hyuuga regained his composure.

"Ask her yourself." He said quietly and strode away.

---x---

The day dawned bright and clear. Tenten kicked the sheets off the bed and crept down the hallway. Pushing open the door of the guest room, she roused the young man who slept in the bed. He woke slowly with a muffled groan.

"Ten, I love you, but could this wait until later?"

"No!" Tenten jumped on the bed with a giant smile on her face. "You have to wake up- it's your birthday and your parents are coming home today!"

Comprehension dawned like the sun on Daichi's face. He blinked, suddenly awake.

"Are they home yet?"

"Not that I know of…" Tenten bit her lip.

Daichi nodded, rubbing her shoulders. The kunoichi sighed and fell back onto the bed, the hype of anticipation faded.

"So," he said in an almost businesslike manner. "If I remember correctly, you owe me three things." He smiled wickedly.

"See you, Dai!" Tenten scampered out of his bed, but tripped on a conveniently placed vine, courtesy of Daichi. "That's cheating, you know." She huffed as the plant placed her on his bed once again.

"You were trying to, too." Dai smirked.

"Have you been talking to-" Tenten tried to ask, but then decided not to.

"Hmm?"

"Never mind." Tenten said hastily.

"So back to the original topic," Daichi said in that cool, impersonal tone. "You do owe me those three favours."

"I knew I would regret that. I was hoping you'd just conveniently forget…" she mumbled.

"Well I didn't," Daichi replied smugly.

"There are limitations, though." Tenten said, her eyes wandering.

Looking for an exit, Daichi mused.

"Of course!" Daichi smiled. "Why would I ever give you reason to think the worst of me?"

"The fact that you've turned thirteen, I suspect hormones have kicked in a few months before this and you have complete power over me."

"Do you ever stop to take a breath?"

"Whenever I can!" Tenten smiled.

---x---

Neji barely contained his surprise when he saw Tenten in a dress that day at their team meeting, her hair loosely braided and tied with a baby blue ribbon.

"Say something about it and I will be forced to kill you." Tenten muttered darkly to Lee. It didn't stop Gai-sensei from going into an extremely long speech about blossoming flowers under the care of valiant youth. Tenten smiled so much her jaws hurt, but they eventually had to get around to their mission; a D ranked baby-sitting, quite frankly.

When he had a quiet moment with her, he knelt beside her on the ground, quickly organising the toys in the basket as Lee watched over the children.

"How are you today, Tenten?"

"Don't tell me you came over here just to make conversation, Neji." She smiled at him. Unbeknownst to her, his mouth went suddenly dry. "What was it that you wanted to know?"

He cleared his throat several times before he felt sure his voice would not betray him.

"Well…" the prodigy looked pointedly at the light blue floral pattern on her dress.

Tenten sighed.

"Am I not allowed to wear something different for once?"

"Does this have anything to do with his birthday?"

"Dai has a name you know."

"Well, does it?"

"You don't own me, you know."

"Who said that I said that?"

"You're jumping out of your skin seeing me in this; I can see it in your eyes that you don't like the fact that I'm not 'routine' today."

"You shouldn't assume things like that," Neji stated.

"Then what is it? What bothers you so much today?"

Neji shrugged.

"Hn."

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Fine, then." She sighed. "You're just jealous." She muttered under her breath.

Neji drew himself up to his full height. He still stood a little bit shorter than she did.

"Who said I was jealous?"

"You just did. Try dig yourself out of this one, prodigy." She smirked, and he scowled.

Lee watched his team mates with a thoughtful smile on his face. This development was interesting, in the least.

--x---

"How was your day?" Tenten asked Daichi. It was around ten at night, and they'd just gone out for dinner and waited by the gates for Dai's parents. There had been no sign, but Daichi and Tenten had shown no outward disappointment.

"Don't get me started." Daichi groaned, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "Hana baked me a fluoro pink cake that I swear was either poisonous or radioactive and Kenji-sensei actually _made_ me a sweater."

"What did you get from Katsuro?"

"Nothing… I was expecting that, too."

Tenten smiled and yawned.

"Well, I did what you asked me to." Tenten grumbled.

"I still have two left." Daichi reminded her.

"I hate you."

"I know you do, Ten." Daichi smiled and hugged her. "Get some sleep, okay?"

"You only have one, now!" she laughed and ran off.

"Two!" Daichi called out. Tenten turned and stuck her tongue out at him before closing her door.

---x---

A vivid image imprinted itself in Tenten's mind as she was shaken awake roughly- a woman with leather gloves to cover cord-cut fingers with torn nails and a silk scarf to hide the cruel burns of an unsuccessful assassination attempt… the gaping wound in her heart crudely stitched and garbed in a silken kimono, left side on top.

"Tenten!" Daichi hissed.

The kunoichi blinked at the sound of her name.

"'Smatter, Dai?" she mumbled sleepily, the chill of premonition numbing her tongue.

"It's my parents."

"Are they home?" she asked excitedly, happiness flooding through her body.

"No." he replied sharply.

"What's wrong?"

She placed a hand on his shoulder, turning on her bedside lamp behind her with the other hand.

"They were murdered." He said in a constricted voice, his eyes flashing with murderous intent. "By a man named Susumu Takeshi."

Tenten, as a shinobi, could not ask him to stay. She had no right. As his best friend…

"Is he allowing you?" She asked of the Third Hokage.

"Yes, on the basis of a mission."

"A cover-up?"

"No," he sat down heavily. "I had intended to leave the village anyway, Ten."

Tenten started as she realised he was wearing a backpack.

"Why? When were you going to tell me?"

"When my parents came home."

"I see."

"But I'll come back," he said quietly. "In three years."

The weapons expert met his eyes and blinked away sudden tears.

Unable to help himself, Daichi leaned forward and kissed her gently, tentatively.

"Wait for me." He whispered.

She could only nod, not trusting her voice enough to speak, making her promise to him.

"I will come home," he said again, placing a hand on her cheek. "Happy birthday, Tenten." He pressed a box into her hands and jumped out the window.

The shock of everything slammed into her- Misaki and Kiyoshi's deaths… Daichi leaving – and the fact that it was the last time she'd see him for the next three years…

It was too much to handle by herself.

---x---

"Neji-sama."

"Go away."

"Neji-sama!" The servant sounded fed up and decided to shake his young master awake.

"What is it?" He thundered. The servant, a man in his mid thirties, did his best not to flinch… and failed.

"Hiashi-sama has summoned you to his study."

"It's half past twelve-!" Neji was about to protest, but decided against it. Despite his initial annoyance of having to wake up so early, his curiosity was getting the better of him. He pulled on a shirt and rolled off his futon, walking silently through the winding walkways of the Hyuuga estate.

Someone was seated in the chair with their back to him as he walked in- Neji wasn't paying much attention as he bowed customarily to his uncle.

"Neji," Hiashi said in a somewhat sarcastic tone. "Might I introduce you to our somewhat unexpected midnight guest?"

The person in the chair stood up and turned around.

"Tenten?"

She only blinked at the sound of her name. Her hair was incredibly tangled, her fingers clenched, nails torn and bloody, pyjamas were askew. She looked like she'd fought at least five people in the course from her bedroom to Hiashi's study.

"I'll leave this to you, then." Hiashi walked out of the room. Tenten collapsed back into the chair.

"What are you doing here?"

Tenten looked up at him with a dazed expression on her face. She stood up.

"What are you doing in my dream, Neji?" she asked in a slurred voice.

"You're sleepwalking?"

"No… I was just told some really bad news… and Dai left me… and, well, I had to fight about eighteen people on the way to your room. The funny thing is that I don't even _know _where your room is! And about two of them were crazy guys on the street. They wanted to tell me a bedtime story." Her eyes wandered to his. "Don't even _think _about telling me a bedtime story, okay?"

"You're sleepwalking."

"I am not sleepwalking!" Tenten protested. "I am perfectly aware! I'm just incredibly..." she yawned.

"Tired?"

"Yeah…" she said. "That."

She draped her arms around his shoulders, slumping onto him.

"I just wanted to talk to you." Her voice was muffled.

"How about we talk in the morning?" Neji asked, trying to shift her off him.

"No!" Tenten wailed. "I want to talk _now_!"

"How about we talk in my room, then?" Neji suggested slowly. "We'll take a bit of a walk to wake you up… and then we'll talk in my room."

"You'd better not be taking me home!" Tenten growled.

"I wouldn't dare." Neji muttered, supporting her with an arm behind her back.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Tenten mumbled as they walked through the cool walkways.

"Seeing you like this?"

Tenten nodded.

"Of course not!"

"You're hiding a smirk, genius." Tenten snarled.

"Fine," Neji argued. "I won't talk with you then."

"No," Tenten whimpered, pawing at his shoulder. "I don't want to go home tonight. She wouldn't understand. Not Mai. Never… Mai."

The Hyuuga sighed and opened his door, letting Tenten in first. The first thing she did was curl into his bed sheets.

"What are you doing?"

She yawned.

"I'm tired."

"I thought you said you wanted to talk."

"Well… yeah… I guess."

With a sigh, Neji shut the door behind him and sat on the bed stiffly.

"You can't tell me that you're not tired and slightly annoyed at me for getting someone to wake you up at one in the morning…"

Neji rolled his eyes.

"What is it?" he asked gruffly.

Tenten shut her eyes for a few moments, and Neji was scared that she'd fallen asleep. With a sigh, he stretched out on the bed beside her.

"What do you do when you lose someone you love?" she asked softly.

"You're talking about him?"

"He's got a name, you know."

"…"

"Well, in any case, I haven't lost him. I guess I haven't… but I was talking about his parents."

"Didn't they leave a few months back?"

"Yeah, in January. A Jounin came by tonight and gave Dai a letter… and two boxes, slashed through. All that remained whole inside was a fragment of a crystal, about this long," she held up her pinkie. "And it just had their names on it. The bastard had tried to ambush them- a knotted cord, right around the neck. Kiyoshi died in an instant… Misaki resisted; she cut her fingers on the stupid thing, and she'd just gotten a rope burn on her neck. It would have scarred for life. Another stabbed her in the chest. Missed her heart; got her, straight in the lungs. And they saw she was alive…" A tear fell onto the dark pillowcase. "And they… a couple of times each, laughing about it as she screamed and drowned in her own blood- she was dead in their eyes- what could she do? And then the last one rolled off her and she took the blade from his belt and stabbed him when he was trying to pull his pants back up. Someone kicked her in the head and they set fire to the wagon after they'd stolen everything inside, leaving only the two boxes out in the middle of the road in a pool of blood."

"Where is he now?"

"Dai? He's on a mission. For the next three years… studying and collecting plants in the deep jungles or something… It's a cover, though. He's got other things to tie up along the way."

"They weren't your parents."

The comment was like a slap in the face.

"Are you really that emotionless that you cannot even comprehend having some kind of familial bond beyond blood? Misaki knew me more than my own mother… and Kiyoshi…" Her voice was bitterly angry.

Tenten buried her face into the pillows, pulling the blanket up over her head, covering Neji in the process. He placed a hand on what he hoped was her shoulder. She didn't retaliate, so he assumed he'd gotten it correct.

"My father," he said. "Died when I was four…"

Tenten pulled the blanket down to meet his eyes and Neji shifted slightly, his hand moving down her arm. "Here, let me show you something." He reached up and undid the bandages around his head, closing his eyes as he did so.

"May I?" She asked tentatively. Neji gave a small noise of assent. Gentle fingers touched the teal symbols upon his forehead, sending tingles down his spine.

"What is it?"

"My destiny…" Neji whispered, opening his eyes. Tenten stared back.

"I don't understand…" she mumbled. "You don't need to tell me," she said hastily. "But I'd like to know."

With a strange look in his eyes, Neji recounted the story of Hizashi's death. Tenten listened, transfixed by the tale which was by no means fictional.

"Neji?" Tenten mumbled, struggling more than ever to stay awake.

"Mmm?"

"Neji?"

"What is it, Tenten?" Neji snapped.

"You have bad night breath, too."

A lethargic smile crossed her face as she fell asleep, and Neji snorted. Trust her to think of something like that just before falling asleep.

"Tenten?"

"What, Neji?" There was a certain amount of hostility in her voice.

"Happy birthday."

"Thanks, Neji."


	12. Surprises

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine.**

**A Blossom with Reason**

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Surprises**

Tenten woke a scant five hours later to an insistent pounding on her door.

"Go _away_," Neji growled.

The knocking stopped somewhat meekly.

Wait… Neji? _Again_?

"This _can't_ be happening!" Tenten whispered to herself.

"Why not?" Neji asked, moving back only slightly enough so he could look down at her.

"Um," Tenten squeaked. She looked up at him and smiled sheepishly "No reason."

The door slid open and a young girl (around seven) walked in. Tenten hid behind Neji who wore an amused expression on his face, most presumably from her antics.

"Morning Neji!" the girl said. "Did you hear about that psycho fan girl who tried to sneak in? She was really good, or so they say- took down fifteen men and even got past all of the decoys."

"Was it really _that_ hard?" Tenten asked. She sat up and met the other girl's gaze. "The whole walk here is a bit blurry… Actually, I can't remember anything from the night before."

"Hi!" she greeted the kunoichi like it was common to see them waking up beside Neji. Tenten just hoped it wasn't. "I'm Hanabi."

"Tenten."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance. Now if you'll excuse me…" she began to walk out of the room.

"Hanabi." Neji said.

"You know, you sound so much like my father when you say that, it's not funny." She whined. "Speaking of which, he is coming right now, so you can't kill me."

"Tenten is my team mate," Neji said, ignoring her previous comments. "There's nothing else."

"It sounds funnier because you said 'mate'." Hanabi giggled.

"Tenten! How did you sleep?"

Tenten was almost afraid to look at the new arrival.

"Hiashi!" she squeaked, and cleared her throat. "I mean, um. I slept well, thank you. I'm sorry if I caused trouble… which I did, so I'm sorry." Tenten babbled.

Hiashi accepted her apology with a nod.

"Your mother," he said quietly. "Will be waking soon, am I correct?"

Tenten bit her lip. She'd forgotten about Mai.

"As I see it, it's too late to sneak home. I will have someone call her at seven o'clock and you are welcome to stay for as long as you like. Breakfast is served at eight." He turned and left the room, Hanabi trailing behind him. She turned before crossing the threshold and smiled cheekily at the kunoichi as she shut the door.

Tenten groaned and fell back onto the bed.

"Hinata's younger sister," Neji filled in the missing gaps. "She surpasses her sister's abilities in everything even though she is five years her junior."

"Neji," Tenten said, ignoring his attempt to fill the silence. "What am I going to do? I am going to DIE when I get home. She's never going to let me live this down."

"Your hair looks nice down." Neji quipped without thinking.

"Wow, a compliment is sure going to help at this time of day."

"Oh, never mind." Neji replied grouchily. "I'm getting up anyway."

"Where are you going?" Tenten sat up, her eyes following his movements.

"Training," he called over his shoulder. "We have over one hundred thousand shuriken. Would you like to see?"

She was out of the room before he could finish the first sentence.

---x---

"Tenten!" Mai shrieked when her daughter arrived on her doorstep at nine in the morning. "Where have you been? I was _frantic_ thinking that you'd run off with that _boy_ and then I find out that you were staying with a completely _different _boy five minutes after the other one had left! What were you _thinking_?"

"Well," Tenten said calmly. "I was thinking that you'd understand."

"You thought _wrong_!" Mai yelled. "The entire village thinks that I am a bad mother!" she sat down on the couch, rubbing her temples. "I'm letting my daughter run around, playing ninja all day long and at night time; she doesn't even stay in her own bed! I wake up and you're _gone _and then I get a call from these people I haven't even _heard_ of and –"

"Are you hyperventilating?" Tenten interrupted.

"I think so."

"Okay," the kunoichi said. "Take three deep breaths, with me. Okay? One… you're doing fine now."

"Is this what they teach you at that school?"

"Part of it. Breathe in … and out."

"Wow."

"Yeah, amazing, isn't it? Inhale… and exhale… very nice!"

Tenten knelt by her mother. "Are you feeling okay now?"

"Yes, Tenten, I think I am. Thank you."

"Any time!" Tenten beamed and walked into her room, re emerging seconds later with weapons.

"Wait- where are you going?"

"Sit down! What are you doing?" Tenten asked, running into the kitchen. She handed Mai a glass of water. "Try staying calm and reading some magazines, okay? You should invite some of your friends over, too. And don't stress so much. It makes you wrinkle prematurely. Have a good day, now, ma'am!"

"Okay, bye!" Mai waved as Tenten shut the door.

She flipped open the magazine that Tenten had handed her, and paused. "Wait… what _was_ that?" she shrugged and picked up the phone. Someone had suggested that she call her friends over.

---x---

"Wow," Neji said as she turned up at their meeting place. "I'm surprised you were able to turn up."

"I had to use those hyperventilating exercises on her."

Neji nodded. The hyperventilating exercises were more effective with the release of endorphins via chakra into the surrounding atmosphere, thus ensuring that the victim of stress would relax slightly, and in some cases, forget the trauma that had caused the tension. This strategy was used to prevent unnecessary suicides, aiding in mediation and, of course, those under incredible stress.

"She also seemed to forget I was her daughter. And also that it was my birthday. But she noticed that that _boy _was not around. Dai is _boy _now, according to her. You are boy." She laughed, and Neji raised an eyebrow at her in question. "My mother seems to have trouble remembering the names of my friends… maybe because I never really _had_ any…"

Lee burst into the small alcove with a sparkling smile.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TENTEN!" He exclaimed. "In honour of your birthday, I will do five hundred push ups, seven hundred and fifty sit ups, one thousand jumps and then five hundred laps around the village!"

"You know… you don't have to do that today."

"Why?" Lee paused and looked at her with shining eyes.

"Because… because I said so! As the birthday girl, I get to order everyone around and you have to do it without complaint!"

Neji gave her a sharp look.

"Yes ma'am!" Lee snapped to attention.

Gai-sensei burst in on the scene, with a large box.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BLOSSOMING BLOSSOM OF BURNING YOUTH!"

"Good morning, Gai-sensei."

"I heard your excellent speech." He winked at her. "And I completely agree!" He danced around for a while, and Tenten cleared her throat. "Here is our humble gift to you." he and Lee bowed with a dramatic flourish, procuring a box from that endless void of infinite possibility known as hammerspace.

The kunoichi pulled at the white ribbon, and gently removed the lid. She wasn't very surprised when she pulled out a green spandex suit. She laughed.

"Thank you, Lee and Gai-sensei!"

"But that is only one part of our present to you!"

Tenten nodded, lifting out the garment from the box. Beneath it was a small parcel wrapped in tissue paper. Smiling, the weapons mistress unwrapped it.

"It's beautiful," Tenten breathed.

"It's not really practical… but it looks nice. Gai-sensei saw it in the market place and thought of you right away."

The kunoichi hugged the both of them each and smiled at the dragons. It was made out of metal, depicting two dragons twining around a metal cylinder with an open top- it was an almost exact image of Tenten's Soushouryuu. It was a pencil holder, Neji realised.

"Thank you," the kunoichi smiled.

Neji noted that the smile didn't exactly light up her whole face- there was still a hint of deep hurt in her eyes. The weapons expert turned, meeting Neji's gaze. He could see right through her, she realised. Everything was laid out before him, and she had no control over it.

She blinked, and Neji looked away.

"So, Tenten," Lee began. "What are we doing today?"

Tenten looked out over the village. A strange look flickered across her face, and Neji was suddenly afraid. Very afraid.

Luckily for him, Gai-sensei remembered the reason why they had a team meeting in the first place.

"My youthful students! We have a mission today!"

"Where are we going?" Lee asked excitedly. "Are we travelling? Are we rescuing damsels in distress from devious dragons?"

"Unfortunately, no."

Lee's joy deflated.

"We have a simple mission." Gai-sensei explained. "All we have to do is intercept a package of illegal goods between two men, known to us only as Ivory and Cerulean."

He didn't stumble over the incredibly foreign names, and Tenten was impressed.

"What does the mission entail?"

"It's simple. The two are meeting for a lunch deal, and there is a simple exchange of goods and then both will go their separate ways."

"Are we sending in someone to impersonate one of the two?"

"No- we're just arresting them on the grounds of supplying and purchasing contraband goods."

"Simple," Neji echoed his teacher's words.

"Yes!" Gai replied. "It's incredibly simple!"

It was amazing- the word 'simple' had been mentioned four times in the past thirty seconds. Yet it didn't turn out quite as simple as everyone had expected.

---x---

Neji found one drawback an hour later.

"Tenten," Neji whined in an un-Neji-like fashion. "Do we have to?"

"Yes!" Tenten laughed. "Just put it on! We need to look like we fit in. You heard Gai-sensei, didn't you? It's a mission, and we're learning to look inconspicuous in an unfamiliar environment."

"I am going to get you back for this on my birthday!" He growled from behind the door. Tenten lounged on the chaise in front of the two cubicles, waiting for them to change.

"It's not my fault this just popped up on my birthday, you know!"

"I can't believe we get to go to a fancy restaurant!"

"It's not a fancy restaurant," Neji interrupted. As an afterthought, he added, "Is it?"

"Yes, it is." Tenten smiled. "It's called The Evergreen Terrace, after the trees of Konoha. It's about as fancy as it gets, complete with the grand piano and the small orchestra. We'll be in the garden suite, and they'll be serving a range of fusion foods." She read off the brochure that had been included in their package.

"Really?" Lee asked, delighted. "It sounds great!" There was a solid thump, and then Lee said, "You know, I'm having trouble with this. Gai-sensei?"

Lee walked out of the change room, fumbling with buttons. Their teacher came to the rescue, helping him quickly, and leading him into another area of the shop.

Tenten leaned on the frame of the cubicle. She touched the door tentatively.

"Neji?" she asked softly. "Are you okay?"

The Hyuuga scoffed.

"You're not okay, are you?" She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Make yourself decent- I'm coming in." The kunoichi picked the simple swing lock and entered the spacious cubicle, locking the door behind her.

She smiled at him fumbling with the suit. His chest and stomach were bared, but he'd put on the trousers. He turned around, seeing her reflection. The prodigy scowled at her.

"You know, it's unfair." He huffed. "I have to wear a suit, and you get to wear your ordinary clothes."

"Don't worry! I'm changing later." Tenten laughed. "Would you like some help?"

Neji stopped fidgeting, and Tenten took that as an affirmative reply.

With a faint smile on her face, the kunoichi began to button up his black shirt slowly, taking her time.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" He asked her, trying to meet her gaze. She looked into his eyes, blushed and looked away.

"I won't help you if you don't want me to." Her voice was soft as she moved her hands away. Without thinking, Neji stilled her hands with his fingers.

"Are you okay in there, sir?" The attendant called.

"Yes," Neji answered. Tenten heard the quaver in that single syllable.

They heard the attendant walk away.

He swallowed a few times and Tenten watched his Adam's apple bob. With the moment gone, Neji released her fingers gently, and she continued working her way up his shirt. He lifted his chin slightly so she could finish with the black buttons.

She picked up the silver tie, quickly looping it around his neck. They didn't say anything to one another, but Tenten's movements were quick and practised.

"How come you're so good at this?" Neji asked.

Tenten shrugged.

"It's something we had to learn," she said cryptically. "As kunoichi, we do have to learn _some_ domestic skills."

"Did you pass the courses?"

"With flying colours." She smiled. "In my opinion, anyway. I passed cooking, sewing, cleaning, dressing (it included colour co-ordination and make-up), weapon concealment and ikebana. I never passed the other ones. Etiquette was one of them, and I barely passed the tea ceremony." She straightened everything up and took a step back. Neji took a step forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. His eyes glanced instinctively at her mouth and she felt her eyelids flutter shut. It was then that she remembered Daichi. Panicking, she turned her cheek to him at the last moment. She felt his lips a scant centimetre from her cheek and her eyes snapped open. She took a step back.

"I'm sorry," she stuttered. "I promised him."

She stepped back again, a cool mask coming over her face, closing herself from him. Neji's expression matched hers as they both tried to dig themselves out of the landslide they'd both brought on.

"Maybe it's a little too formal…" she muttered.

"Yeah." Neji said quickly, trying to battle the growing awkwardness.

Tenten quickly undid the tie and hung it up on the hook, opening the first button on his shirt and rolling up the cuffs at his hands.

"Okay then…" Tenten shrugged like it was nothing. "I'll see you later." She backed out of the cubicle, not meeting his eyes as she did so.

---x---

Tenten stood in front of the mirror, staring uninterestedly at her reflection.

"What were you thinking, Tenten?" she whispered to herself.

"You were thinking of him." Neji said, appearing at her side. "I shouldn't have been so bold as to assume…" He handed her a small box, bowing as he did so. Without another word, he turned and left her alone.

She opened the box. There was a note inside, covering the object from view.

"Tenten," It read. "I hope you'll find a use for this- if you press the stone on the side, the teeth are coated in a poison strong enough to knock out a human instantly. The side effects are minor, and you'll know when it's ready to be used- the petals change colour to red. Happy birthday, from Neji."

Removing the small piece of card, Tenten smiled. He had bought her a pair of slide combs adorned with a small, cream and yellow lily framed on each side with an emerald green leaf made out of stained glass.

Turning, she glanced at the deep emerald cotton dress on the wall behind her. Along with being the only halter neck dress in the store that did not have a plunging neckline, it had a tie at the back so the tightness at the waist could be adjusted. With a faint smile, she unbound her hair, slipping the hair ties over her left wrist.

---x---

Neji was waiting for her when she stepped out of the fitting rooms. He nodded, apparently unaffected by her change of appearance. Tenten restrained herself from rolling her eyes.

Her hair was unbound and fell in gentle waves down to her hips, with a small amount of it pinned back from her face with small tendrils still framing her cheeks. The dress was simple and yet perfect for her form, accentuated by the plain, cream flats she wore. She'd slung emerald green beaded bracelets over her right hand, along with matching earrings. The lily ring glinted invitingly on her finger. An emerald green clutch dangled on her left wrist, hiding the lily pendant Kiyoshi had made for her, and Neji would bet all of the money in the world that she had at least one scroll in that bag, one poisoned senbon in her hair, and had hidden more than one kind of weapon holster beneath her dress. How she had managed make all of these objects remain unseen was not for him to know.

Tenten noticed Neji's eyes had strayed to the bracelets and shrugged.

"The shop attendant said that they looked good with the dress, and gave them to me for free."

Neji sniffed. If he hadn't been so sure that the man was gay, he would have… done something.

"We're going to be late." He said, and offered his arm. Tenten, with a forced smile, took it. Unfortunately, as Tenten was wearing a dress (she did her best to persuade him she _was _wearing shorts underneath), they'd had to walk through Konoha, drawing stares.

She moved closer to Neji.

"Oh my gosh," someone squealed. It sounded suspiciously like Hana. "Neji's got a girlfriend."

"Don't listen to them," Neji said quietly. Tenten placed her cheek on Neji's shoulder and didn't say anything.

Luckily, the restaurant was only a block away.

When they arrived at The Evergreen Terrace's Garden Suite the maître d' looked at them like he was measuring them up.

"Do you have a reservation?" He asked with haughty arrogance.

"Yes," Neji replied with a steady gaze. "Party of two under the name Makoto Yoshiro."

"This way, sir." The old man led them past various diners to their table. They sat down and the old waiter handed them the emerald green leather bound, gold embossed menu, and strode away.

"I want _all _of these!" Lee demanded loudly from across the other side of the restaurant. He was playing the part quite well. Maybe he'd been given a lot of sugar while waiting, Tenten mused.

Tenten smiled at Neji. He looked incredibly different with grey eyes and the henge-masked forehead. They'd all had to leave forehead protectors behind, along with obvious weapons.

He reached over and brushed the ornamental lilies.

"They suit you," he said softly.

"Well," she said. "It's incredibly easy for _you_ to say because you bought them for me." She smiled at him. "But it was a beautiful gift. I love them."

A waitress in a slinky, low cut green dress came to take their orders. She wore long black gloves and she winked seductively at the young Hyuuga who ignored her efforts to catch his attention.

"What would you like to order?" she asked in her husky voice as she leaned in, showing off the curve of her cleavage. Neji tried not to roll his eyes.

Tenten and Neji both ordered vegetarian dishes, and the woman left them alone.

"And I'd thought that this was a _dignified _establishment," Neji whispered to the kunoichi.

"It is," Tenten realised. "Sex just sells things better and encourages people to come back later. She was sending you _vibes_."

"I'm pretty sure she's sending that man _vibes_, too." Neji mocked, cocking his head at another table.

Tenten had forgotten about their mission, but remembered upon seeing Ivory and Cerulean eating lunch together. She sighed, crossing her legs. Neji took back the thought of her hiding holsters beneath her dress. There was no _way_ it was humanly possible that she could cross her legs so gracefully with a bulky holster strapped to her thigh.

Trying in a desperate attempt to draw his attention away from his team mate's (yes, he thought. His team mate. _His_ team mate. Damn it!) alarmingly attractive legs, he glanced at the two businessmen at table six. Cerulean was still seated, but Ivory was gone. The Hyuuga frowned.

Before he could comment on it, their meals arrived, and Tenten saw (with some dismay) that umeboshi had been arranged atop her rice.

"You don't like umeboshi?" Neji asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"No," she said, picking up the black chopsticks. "I hate it. The whole extremely salty and sour thing doesn't work well for me. I like sour things, but just not _this_."

"Bad experience?"

"Incredibly. Have you heard that old wives' tale that umeboshi cures colds? My mother took it to heart…"

Neji smirked.

"Would you like it?" she asked him.

"I guess." He shrugged.

She picked up the small amount of umeboshi with some rice and placed it, with a dainty grace, in Neji's mouth.

"They're staring at us, aren't they?" he asked quietly.

Tenten covered her mouth slightly as she sat up straighter, seeing over his shoulder.

"Yes."

Lee and Gai-sensei were whispering things to each other with dramatic gestures. By this time, Tenten was sure her extravagant teacher had seen them in Suna.

"So, tell me, Yoshiro…" She used his alias with a sly wink. Up until today, Neji hadn't even known she could do her own _makeup_ let alone wink _seductively_. "Tell me something about you that no one else knows."

"No one else?" Neji paused. "Well, Minako…" Tenten almost laughed at the stiff formality. No normal human being talked like this. "I have a secret."

"I like secrets."

"Of course you would."

"If you don't want to tell me, I'll tell you one if you tell me one first."

"Well…" Neji shifted the ravioli on his plate. "For starters… I _hate_ dried shrimps."

"What?!"

"Yeah, it's weird. I know."

Tenten laughed.

"And secondly, I use conditioner."

"Well that's a given. Everyone knows you use conditioner."

"Okay then… my hair," he whispered. "Is layered."

"No _way_!" She giggled conspiratorially.

"Yes, it is. It stays like this for a reason. Oh, and I use a coconut oil hair treatment every week."

Tenten restrained her laughter.

"Oh," she smiled. "I think I know what your big secret is."

"What is it?" Neji leaned in.

"Yoshi, you are a metrosexual."

"I am not!" Neji retorted.

"You so are!" Tenten smiled. "For starters, no normal guy even _thinks _of conditioning his hair- let alone treating and layering it."

Their playfulness was shattered with the breaking of glass. The red wine inside was pooling on the floor like blood. There was a sudden shift in the atmosphere. Ivory smirked down at his 'business partner' and took the case. He uttered a guttural word, and knocked over the pepper cellar, and walked out of the restaurant.

Even though she couldn't understand the word, she was familiar with the concept.

Checkmate.

"Damn it," Neji whispered.

The remaining patrons stood, revealing weapons. The maitre d' locked the door, and Tenten scoffed. Nothing could keep her indoors if she didn't want to be. Besides, they were on a balcony. Going after Ivory was imperative to their mission- he had the item, and they needed to know what was in the case.

She looked over at Gai-sensei and Lee. Their faces were sombre, and Gai nodded. Tenten quickly hooked her bag on her arm and flipped backwards over the balcony, landing in the street below. She was running before her feet hit the ground, feeling a kunai almost nick her arm. Ivory was walking calmly down the street in the other direction, the case in his hands. He was about a hundred metres away.

"Can you do it?" Neji asked, running beside her. His bloodline limit was activated.

She smiled at him.

"Of course." She reached into the small bag and drew out a pair of poisoned senbon needles. The poison was designed to simply knock out the target and implement a temporary paralysis.

Up ahead, Ivory had realised that he was being followed. He began to run into the market place, violently shoving anything into the path behind him. Neji and Tenten were forced to jump over numerous knocked over stalls, children, livestock and large cumbersome items like baskets and cages of hissing ducks.

"I hate this part." Tenten grumbled. "You can do it this time."

Neji smirked.

They kept up the chase until they saw Ivory tiring. Confused and in an unfamiliar territory, Ivory took a sharp left turn into an alleyway with no where to hide.

Seeing her opportunity, the kunoichi threw the senbon. One hit his thoracic vertebrae and the other hit his right thigh. He stumbled forward, the case clattering onto the ground.

Neji ran up quickly, holding Ivory's mouth open as he removed the poison stored in the miniscule pouch.

The man's eyes rolled back and he fainted.

Neji wiped his hands on Ivory's fine cotton suit. Tenten laughed, catching her breath.

"Fifteen minutes," she said. "This one lasted a while."

"Hn," Neji said coldly. "He won't last as long under interrogation."

"What number was it?" Tenten asked.

"Nine six one for the left, seven four two on the right." Neji had watched discreetly while Cerulean had tried to shield the codes from view.

Tenten walked over to the prodigy and took the case, quickly swivelling the reels to the right numbers. She pressed the catch and the case swung open.

Inside, nestled in foam, was a small, red diamond. Tenten started, the lid of the aluminium case slamming onto the ground. A novice might have thought it was a ruby… but Tenten was far from a novice at spotting gems.

"Tenten," Neji said warningly. "We need to take it back to the Hokage."

"This must be worth millions…" she breathed, slipping on a pair of clean cotton gloves. "Red diamonds are the rarest in the world…"

She removed it from its casing and turned it over in her hands. It was small; around five carats.

"Some people would pay around 50 million ryou for this."

"Tenten," Neji said. Tenten knew it would be the final time he'd ask nicely, in his standards. "Let's go."

The kunoichi shut the case as Neji picked up the fallen man.

A few minutes later they arrived at the Hokage Tower, having met up with their team mate and sensei.

They walked up the stairs, dragging along two men in suits, and navigated their way through the round corridors. Tenten knocked on the old mahogany doors before entering, bowing respectfully as she did so.

"Hokage-sama," she murmured. "We've completed the mission."

"Good work." He looked up from his paper work and Tenten crossed the room, placing the case on the desk. She quickly manipulated the dials and swivelled the case around so the Sandiame could see what was inside.

He appeared unaffected by the diamond, smoking his pipes thoughtfully for several moments before speaking.

"That will be all, then." He waved his hand and they turned around. "Except for you two, Neji and Tenten."

Tenten realised that he could read her more easily than Neji could. She shut her eyes and gulped, and turned around. The Sandiame had left his chair and was now standing in front of her. He looked over her shoulder and nodded at Neji.

"Shut the door, please, Neji."

The Hyuuga wordlessly complied.

"Tenten," The Hokage said with a gentle firmness. "Look at me."

Tenten meekly stared up into his eyes.

"Don't keep things on the inside," he said in that same voice. "Vengeance is dangerous."

"Then why did you send Dai away?"

"I know that he needs to grow, and change in his own way. His research mission is valid, and I felt that he was ready. He will not give in to vengeance and temptation. He is not the kind of person to stray away from something… or someone he loves." He said with a meaningful look at the kunoichi. Neji looked away, clearing his throat.

"Everyone worries about you, Tenten."

"Funny way of showing it," she grumbled.

"You're a shinobi of Konoha." The Hokage said, ignoring her. "I think you can tell where I'm going with this."

"I am not going to see a counsellor or shrink."

"I realised," the old man replied dryly. "That is why I have assigned Neji to be your… buddy. You are to talk to him at least once every day, for an hour, in private."

Neji stiffened. Tenten realised she had not been the only one to just find out about the plan.

"What? You have no idea how well that is going to go down with my mother." Tenten said.

"Actually, I do." He replied mildly. "Which is why I told her in advance."

"What did you tell her?" Tenten asked.

"That you were not together, but that Neji was your personal therapist."

Tenten waved her hand. "No offence, but I think I'd be a better therapist than Neji. He's the world's biggest ball of angst, with perfect reason. I don't think it's such a good idea."

"Would you rather Lee, then?"

Tenten thought for a split second. Whatever she told him would remain private… except from Gai-sensei. As much as she respected and admired the two of them as team mate and teacher, she could not imagine telling them her innermost thoughts. Neji, on the other hand, seemed to be quite adept at it. It never worked the other way around, though.

"Fine," she sighed.

"Excellent!" He put the pipe down and nodded at the two of them. "You can go on your way, now."

Tenten walked out of the room, lost in her thoughts.

"Care to share some?" Neji asked sarcastically.

"No," Tenten replied. "I like having my thoughts all to myself! Get your own!"

Neji rolled his eyes.

"Well, where did you want to go?" She asked as they walked out of the building.

"We didn't get to finish lunch."

"No," the kunoichi said with a smile. "We didn't. Where did you have in mind?"

---x---

"Are you sure?" The kunoichi asked moments later.

"Sure I'm sure," Neji replied. "We wouldn't want that dress to go to waste."

They sat down at the small café.

"I'm surprised that it didn't get cut."

"Hn."

Neji removed his jacket and hung it on the back of his chair.

"You're hurt," Tenten said, touching his right shoulder.

He shrugged.

"It's just a scratch."

The weapons expert rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she said. "It's probably going to get infected."

"Are you offering to bandage it?"

"No," she said sarcastically. "Of course I am! Don't you trust me?"

"So you're not using it as an excuse to get me out of this shirt and take advantage of me?"

"Trust me, Neji. No one wants to take advantage of you." Tenten retorted.

"Correction," Neji smirked. "About fifty percent of the village's female population would willingly take advantage of me."

"Right," Tenten smirked. "You wish. Pretending you're Kami-sama's gift to women is not attractive."

"Yes, but there's a difference between pretending, and actually being one."

"You know, you might have to start eating for two- you and your ego!"

"That's a pretty big cliché you just pulled." Neji stirred his iced tea. "Ego jokes are out."

"Oh, and you would know this, how?" Tenten tapped her chin. "Oh right!" she snapped her fingers. "I almost forgot." She smiled cunningly. "You're a metrosexual!"

Their meals arrived and they fell into a companionable silence. The kunoichi smiled at him as she took a bite of her sesame dumpling.

"So," she said. "Tell me- do you moisturise and/or exfoliate?"

"Why should I answer? And even if I do moisturise and exfoliate my skin, why should you even care?"

Tenten laughed. "Your skin's smooth, is all."

"Why the sudden interest?" Neji leaned in, a sly look in his eyes. "Do you want to see more?"

The kunoichi rolled her eyes again. "I've seen you first thing in the morning, naked save for a towel around your waist, in a hotel room, after you've had a shower. I think I've seen enough."

"You haven't seen it all, though."

"Neji!" Tenten gasped. "Are you trying to keep me in your bed?"

Neji fell silent.

Tenten- one. Neji… Zero.


	13. Every Fairy Tale

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Every Fairy Tale**

"So with this whole therapist thing…" Tenten fiddled with the bracelets as she tried to phrase her statement. "Why is it that you are the one finding out all about me? Why is it never the other way around?"

Neji smirked.

"Does it bother you that much?"

"Of course! I hate the fact that you're the one prying into my mind, and I'm stuck with none of your secrets!"

"Well if you're going to keep _whining_," Neji rolled his eyes. "When you tell me a secret, I'll answer one of your questions about myself."

"Deal," Tenten shook his hand with a crafty smile. "Hey, let's go get some chocolate," She suggested. "I need the sugar."

"Chocolate?"

"Yeah…" realisation dawned. "You don't know what chocolate is?"

"I _do_ know…" Neji trailed off. "But I have never had it."

"You've been deprived, then." Tenten shook her head.

They ducked into a small store in side streets, and Tenten greeted the young man behind the counter. He was a few years older than she, with typically handsome looks.

"Hey Ken," She smiled, leaning on the counter.

"Who is this wondrous sprite who has graced our humble shop with her beauteous presence?"

Tenten smiled, rolling her eyes.

"It's just me, Ken, and you know it."

"Tenten?" He feigned shock. "I didn't recognise you. Kenichi's work, I'm guessing." His eyes roamed over her outfit, his gaze not lingering anywhere obscene.

"Yes," she sighed. "I had a mission at the Evergreen Terrace around midday. But I stayed out last night, so I can't really go home right now."

"Ahh. That's too bad, then." He smiled at her. "But green suits you. Where did you go last night?"

"To a friend's house," she replied vaguely.

Ken inclined his head at Neji.

"Congratulations," he said coolly.

"It's nothing like that," the two shinobi replied simultaneously.

"So what can I get for you?" Ken filled in the silence smoothly.

"Can I please have… some of those chocolate coins in all types… and a block of milk and dark chocolate each."

"You're having a large chocolate spree today." Ken noted as he collected the items for her behind the counter. "What's the occasion?"

"Oh nothing, I'm just in the mood for endorphins, and Neji's never had chocolate."

"Never?" He was shocked.

Tenten nodded.

"Never."

"How could anyone manage?" He handed her the packages. "You know, I have heard some people say that chocolate is an aphrodisiac."

"Ken, I'm thirteen."

"Is it your birthday today?"

She smiled. "Yeah. Thanks for remembering," she added sarcastically.

"Chocolate's on the house today for you, then." He paused. "And any other day you turn up in that dress." He added.

Tenten batted her eyelashes at him mockingly, and then waved a cheerful goodbye.

Neji remained silent for the rest of their walk. Tenten smiled and waved at all who she knew, not perturbed by the prodigy's silence. When at last they reached their team's meeting area, the sun had almost set, bathing the small alcove in a warm light.

"You're annoyed," she said.

Neji did not reply.

"Why? Is it because-" she remembered Ken. "Ken?" she laughed. "You're jealous of _Ken_? There are so many things wrong with that guy I cant begin to even list them!" she looked at him, genuinely interested. "Why did he annoy you any way? I see him all the time, and there's nothing to our relationship; I know him, that's all."

Neji remained silent, and Tenten sighed and handed him the coins.

"These are too light in weight, too yellow in its colouring. They wouldn't even make a good counterfeit."

"That's not the point, Neji." She took a coin from him and bent back the foil, revealing the chocolate inside. "That's what you want."

"It's pointless."

"It's a novelty, genius." She said, holding up the coin. "Okay," she sighed. "I'll try some, and then you can see that it's fine."

Without further ado, she ate the sweet and Neji sighed.

"There!" She said, pressing another coin into his hands. "Your turn."

There was a charged silence; neither willing to give up. Neji opened his mouth to say something, and Tenten moved like lightning. Within a split second he was on the ground and the chocolate was in his mouth.

"That's cheati-"

Tenten looked down at him with a smug look on her face.

"How is it now?"

"Good," Neji managed. His mind was completely blank.

Tenten smiled and helped him up.

"That was cheating, you know." Neji smirked.

"So?" she stood, and sat on the edge of the balcony, looking out over the village lit with the peachy sunset. "It was worth it, right?"

She unwrapped the dark chocolate and broke off two blocks; one for her, and the other for Neji.

"Start talking, then," Neji prompted as he sat opposite her.

"What about? You're the one who needs to start the conversation."

"Fine," Neji huffed. This girl never ran out of things to talk about. "Chocolate… when was the first time you had it?"

"I have no idea. My mother just takes me down to that shop every weekend."

"And do you flirt with him then?"

"Yeah right," Tenten scoffed. "My mother would have both our heads then."

"Then you're admitting you flirt with him, then."

"And if I just did? Why does it bother you so much?" She threw him the small piece. "You're uncomfortable, aren't you? You don't like the fact that, for once, there's a lot more attention being paid to me from the opposite sex!" she smiled. "That's a first."

---x---

The next day, the three Genin were left to their own devices at training as their sensei had been called into a meeting- his second in three days.

Tenten was having a target practice session with straw dolls tied to the trees around her. Neji sat in the roots of an ancient tree, his head resting below a target, watching her stances.

It was now that Lee decided to share his valuable piece of information with his team mates.

"Hey! Hey, did you hear?" Lee bounded into the clearing as Tenten spun her kunai. He took a deep breath before continuing. "For the first time in five years, there are going to be rookies in this chuunin exam."

The chuunin exam was no surprise to any of them; they'd missed out last year, as Gai-sensei had felt that they weren't ready. They had respected his decision and had honed their skills over the eleven months.

"No way!" Tenten scoffed, the weight of the kunai leaving her hand as she spun it in the air. "It's probably some stubborn jounins competing or something."

"No," Lee put up his finger. "The story is that three of them are the students of that Kakashi."

The other two suppressed sighs. The story of Kakashi and Gai-sensei's eternal rivalry was quite familiar to them.

"That sounds interesting," Neji added to the conversation. "But in the end…"

The kunai left Tenten's fingertips with a skilled flick and landed in the bullseye a scant foot above Neji's head.

"You have to feel sorry for them," The prodigy finished with a quiet smirk.

Lee nodded and gave the two of them a sharp salute before returning to his training; his duty was done.

"So," Tenten twisted the kunai out of the targets and placed them back into her holsters. "Do you really mean that, or is it just bravado?"

"And I thought you respected me." Neji replied.

"I do," Tenten smiled. "But I just find you irritating sometimes, is all."

Neji rolled his eyes and changed the subject.

"Favourite season?"

"We're back to playing this game again, are we?"

No answer. The kunoichi sighed, throwing yet another kunai.

"I love autumn, because it's the end of summer and cooling down." She smiled. "And winter's great for reading."

"I've noticed." Neji replied dryly.

"What's that meant to mean?"

"You're a regular bookworm and all, knowing the whole library like the back of your hand."

"I dare you to move your head up about thirty centimetres. I won't miss that X of yours." She threatened, and Neji merely blinked. "You were there? You saw us, in the library, didn't you? He said it, and-"

She didn't look at him for a while.

"Just let it out, Tenten." His voice was quiet.

"I can't."

"Why?"

"It just hurts… too much."

Silence fell and the kunoichi sighed after some time. The sun had fully set and the purplish glow was gone; replaced by a deeper blue hue. It was getting late.

"It's five thirty." Neji filled in.

The kunoichi cursed.

"Curfew?" Neji asked.

"Yeah, unfortunately." She quickly summoned all of her weapons back into their scrolls.

"Would you like me to come with you?"

Tenten shrugged.

"If you want."

The prodigy found that he couldn't maintain eye contact with her long enough to guess her thoughts; she kept eluding his gaze as they walked out of the grove of trees.

They set off at a slow pace, silent at first.

"Favourite flavour of ice cream?"

Tenten looked across at Neji and smiled.

"Strawberry Cheesecake," she answered.

"You're not lactose intolerant?"

"Thankfully, no. If I was… I don't know what I would do."

Neji smirked.

"What's yours?" Tenten asked.

"I like vanilla."

"Classic," Tenten murmured with a smile.

"Favourite day of the week?"

"Friday."

"Wednesday."

"Wednesday?" Tenten echoed. "Why Wednesday?"

"I don't know. I like things to be even."

A smile flickered across her face.

"Typical," she muttered.

They continued with the barrage of questions until they arrived at Tenten's front doorstep.

Tenten turned to say goodbye when Neji leaned in closer (she could _smell_ his distinctive scent) and removed a piece of bracken from her hair. She was instantly reminded of the time when they'd been academy students.

"My birthday," she murmured.

Neji cleared his throat and Tenten stepped back. Well she tried to, at least.

"I'm stuck!" she laughed. "Your hair caught on the clips."

A few strands of his hair had wrapped itself around one of the fastenings on her shirt.

"This is embarrassing." Neji muttered, not noticing as Tenten drew out a kunai. "No!" he said, finally noticing the blade as it glinted in what little light there was. "Definitely _not_!"

"I'll break it then, and your hair will be all matted and split at the bottom. You'll have to cut it!" Tenten protested, laughing.

"This is _not_ a laughing matter!"

"Stop squirming!"

In the oncoming darkness, Neji stepped backwards, not noticing the step. He fell back onto the ground, Tenten following him.

"Ow," Tenten said a few moments later.

"You think you're hurt? I was just winded by a thirteen year old girl who just happens to have my hair stuck in her button that's right on her chest!"

"You did _not_ just-" Tenten sat up and drew back her fist.

"You're _finally_ home, Tenten! I was-" Mai opened the door and stared at her daughter for a few moments, speechless.

"On the door mat?!?!?" She shrieked. "In the front garden?!?!?"

"Neji's hair got stuck in the clips!" Tenten protested.

"From kissing _you_, no doubt!" Mai pulled her daughter up with one arm and pushed her into the house.

She glared furiously at Neji before slamming the door shut.

---x---

The next day, Tenten did not turn up at training. Lee and Gai-sensei were concerned, as always, but Neji had neglected to mention the incident yesterday. Their teacher announced that they would make their way to Tenten's home to find out what had happened.

Needless to say, Mai was surprised when Tenten's team mates and sensei turned up on her doorstep.

"Good morning Mai-san!" Gai greeted her.

"Good morning, Gai-san." Mai murmured, hiding a yawn. Why did ninja always have to get up so early in the morning? Tenten was already up, cleaning, sharpening and polishing her weapons in her room, and the sun had just risen. "How can I help you?"

"Well you see," Gai explained politely. "The chuunin exam is being hosted this year in our village. But for our cell to participate, we need all members of our team…"

Neji snuck off to the side of the house and climbed in through Tenten's window. As soon as his feet touched the ground, five kunai whipped towards him in a vicious arc. He caught them smoothly, turning as he did so.

"Hey, fancy meeting you here," Tenten said wryly.

"Are you planning on training anytime soon?"

"I will," she idly flipped a kunai over in her fingers. "It's just not now."

"You're in trouble?"

"You have no idea. Staying out all night, missing my curfew and being seen on top of you do not make a good mix for my mother."

Tenten cocked her head to the side.

"It seems like my mother's decided to let you in." she smirked at him as he left.

---x---

"You should invite Lee over more often!" Mai rubbed her daughter's shoulders as she got dressed.

In the other room, Neji's ears practically pricked up.

Unaware that her team mate was eavesdropping, she scoffed.

"Right, mother. You're just saying that because –"

"Because why?" Mai asked slyly. "There's nothing wrong with him, unlike all of those other _boys _you know. One looks like a girl and the other ran off to avenge his parents." She said matter-of-factly.

"It's traditional for the Hyuuga Clan, and wouldn't you want me to go and kick your murderer's ass if you were murdered brutally?"

"Language, Tenten."

"Sorry," she fiddled with the crystal pendant that hung on her neck. Love from Yori Kiyoshi and Misako, it read. There was a small camellia engraved on the other side, along with her name.

"You have other necklaces, Tenten."

"I like this one." She whispered.

"You might think that I know nothing about being a ninja, but I do. Vengeance can poison your soul more than you could ever realise. That shard of crystal can poison you, Tenten. It could turn your heart to ice and when it does, the only reason you're waking up every morning is to get that one person. And when you do… you lose the will to live."

Tenten blinked, tears falling suddenly onto her cheeks. She started and stared at her mother. There was a sad look on her face and she kissed her daughter's cheek.

"I'm sorry, love." She patted Tenten's head. "Go out and talk with your sensei."

---x---

Their one hour session had just begun. Mai had gone out shopping and Lee and Gai-sensei were out training to improve his Lotus positions. The two teens sat on the roof of her house, looking out over the other homes to behind Tenten's. She couldn't look at Dai's home just yet. She couldn't bring herself to use the key in her dresser, either, nor walk into and tend their garden. Dai would have been working with Miyako and Kiyoshi today; it was Sunday.

"Do you have a lot on your mind?" Neji asked.

"More than you could imagine."

"Would you like to share some of your thoughts with me, then?"

Tenten was silent for a long time, and Neji decided to get the ball rolling on his own.

"How about your home life?"

"Well… things have always been a bit rocky between me and my mother," Tenten sighed. "She's just so … different. I remind her of my father, or so she says. She was brought up with a set mind frame- women were supposed to grow up and get married at the age of thirteen in a match made by their parents and live life dutifully as wife and mother, bearing as many sons as possible. But… she married at fifteen and it was for love. She married a ninja who was killed the day after they came home from their honey moon, and she found out she was pregnant a few weeks later."

Tenten sighed and looked up at the clouds.

"How did you get into weaponry, and being a ninja?"

"My father was a ninja. He'd often said that he wanted his child to grow up in his footsteps… and my mother respected that." She smiled. "Things haven't gone quite as smoothly as she would have hoped, but we're managing right now."

"How so?"

"Well… I'm the opposite of her. I lack that 'inner grace of a swan', the right manners and the whole ninja thing is just …" she tried to think of the word. "We believe in different things. She thinks that what she's doing is for my own good, and the sooner I leave this ninja 'business' and settle down, the better. But that's the problem- I know she's trying to be a good parent, and she _is_, but I _want _to keep being a ninja and break the kunoichi stereotype. I don't want to settle down yet because…"

She remembered who she was talking to.

"Well," she floundered, flustered. "I don't see myself getting into a serious relationship for a few years, yet." Tenten blushed. "I don't see marriage, boyfriends and love on the top of my priority list right now."

"Your mother seems to think that it should be." Neji said.

Tenten gave him a sharp look.

"You were eavesdropping?"

"Naturally."

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"So why does she remember Lee's name, and not mine?"

"She knows he's the kind of guy that I'd never go for."

"And I am?"

The kunoichi glared at him.

"For all she knows, you are." Tenten sighed. "And now, Dai's added to the list."

"Ah," Neji smirked. "She thinks you're addicted to the thrill of danger."

"Neji," Tenten propped herself up on her elbow to stare down at him. "Did you just call yourself 'the thrill of danger'? Because if you did, I will be forced to throw some kind of sharp projectile you."

"I'd like to see you try," Neji retorted. "Besides, I have to submit your progress report in a few days."

"What's that to me?"

"You'll have to go and see a real psychologist if I die."

"Yeah, whatever," Tenten snapped.

"Back to the topic," Neji stated in a businesslike manner. "If Lee's not the kind of guy you'd go for, what do you look for in someone?"

Tenten snorted. "Like I'd ever tell you, Neji."

"What about if I tell you what I look for in someone?"

Curiosity was too much to resist.

"Do you promise you'll tell me?" Tenten asked him.

"Of course," Neji smirked.

"I won't tell you if you smirk like that," The kunoichi sighed.

Neji's face fell, and Tenten laughed.

"Okay, fine." Her eyes misted over. "He has to be someone with integrity and strong morals. Preferably a shinobi, or at least have some kind of understanding about my dreams in life. He needs to be loyal, loving, caring, compassionate and with strength of heart- physical is optional," she added with a smile. "Physically, I don't care too much."

"Are you okay? You seem a little dreamy," Neji said.

"You're about as romantic as a piece of dust, Neji."

"And you're a romantic, then?"

"At heart, sometimes." She smiled yet again. "Every girl wants a fairy tale, Neji. But when we grow up, some of us just stop looking. There's nothing wrong with dreaming, for now."

Tenten looked away for a few moments and handed Neji a piece of chocolate.

She looked at him intensely. "Enlighten me, Neji."

Neji sighed.

"You do realise this is a pointless exercise, right?"

"How so?"

"I'm probably going to have to marry who ever my uncle tells me to."

"Pfft." Tenten snorted. "Who cares? This is for the sake of the exercise. If you had the choice of any woman in the world, what would she be like?"

Neji looked up at the skies, seeing the shape of a dragon in the clouds.

"Sharp yet blunt. She can't be clingy, and needs to know _me_ inside and out. A kunoichi, definitely, at least a Chuunin. I don't care about anything else."

"Not even loyalty or love?"

"Love is for dreamers." Neji said coldly, looking directly at her. With a disgusted sigh, Tenten pushed him off her roof, pegging a pebble at his head. It didn't miss.

"What did I say?" Neji asked, looking up at her.

Tenten jumped down.

"Do you want to know _why_ you'd never be my type?" She asked furiously. "You're a self conceited, stuck up _bastard_! You've lived your entire life believing in the fate, that everything is predestined, but you'll never understand that you will always have a _choice_; you can choose to act, or react! Your _arrogance_ is almost as large as your ego and twice as damaging! If you're ever going to attract your dream wife, then fix _that_, first!" she turned sharply on her heel, whipping him in the face with her braid, and walked into her home, slamming the door shut behind her.

"I'll come to training, tomorrow. Just don't expect me to be nice to you." She snapped, her voice muffled through the wood.

Neji could only rub his head where the stone and braid had stuck him, shake his head, and walk home.

---x---

The next day, Team Gai had several training exercises to complete. Needless to say, they were a complete failure.

"It is the Springtime of Youth, my students!" Gai exclaimed with tears pouring forth from his eyes. "You should not be wasting it bickering, and resolve your problems and be happy!"

He looked at the two sullen teenagers and sighed.

"I have no choice, then."

He picked up the two of them by the collar and threw them into a box scratched out on the ground- he'd previously prepared it for something else but found that it had a much more urgent use.

"Sit there," Gai-sensei commanded.

They complied without looking at the other. The spandex-clad shinobi placed a few exploding tags around the box and stood back, apparently satisfied. "I will come back in four hours. I will not take them away if you are still arguing, not speaking with each other or generally on unfriendly terms. Do you understand?"

Gai strode off. Tenten and Neji knew that they were doomed. They sighed and glared at one another. The tension could be cut with a knife; but Tenten could only imagine cutting Neji with the knife.

"What is your problem?" She snapped.

"_You_."

"Excuse me? _I'm_ your problem?" she hauled him to his feet and stared at him. "I was not the one nosing around!"

"You pegged a rock at me."

"So?!?!" Tenten was outraged. "I think _everyone_ would agree with me that you deserved it!"

"How on earth did I _deserve_ it?"

"What? You don't even see-" She stopped talking and took a few deep breaths. "Were you even _listening_ to what I was saying?"

Neji was silent.

"I would _hit_ you if I could, Neji." Tenten snapped at him, sitting down again, in a corner of the box without looking at him.

Surprising the both of them, Neji was the first to speak.

"Why did you get angry?" he asked. "Didn't you expect an answer like that?"

"No," Tenten admitted. "I wasn't expecting an answer at all."

They both began to talk at the same time and lapsed into an awkward silence. Tenten smiled nervously.

"But do you really mean that?"

"What?"

"Do you mean to say that love doesn't matter to you, at all? Nor loyalty?"

Neji was silent.

"You'll regret it later, Neji." She smiled deviously. "What would you do if your dream wife cheated on you? Or never loved you?"

Minutes ticked by.

"I'm adding this to the list."

The final statement wore away at Neji's curiosity.

"What list?" he asked finally.

"I have a list, in my mind, of all the reasons why you annoy me. Your irritating silence has just been added to it."

"Well if I had one for you, I would put your non stop chatter on it." Neji smirked.

"You don't mean that." Tenten smiled. "Without me, you'd go insane. If someone else had been assigned to your team, you would have killed both her and Lee by now."

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"I've seen the way you react to the other girls in our class. You hated all of them with some amount of fervour."

"_You're_ the one getting smug, now."

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"It's my right, because I _am_ right. How long do we have?"

"Three hours."

"I hate you so much right now."

"Right back at you."

Silence fell for a few more minutes.

"How much longer?" she asked.

"You asked ten minutes ago," Neji snapped.

Another deafening silence.

Tenten stared at the grass long enough to see every movement that shook each blade.

"I need to eat." Tenten said, rubbing her stomach with her hands.

"Do you want to go get something to eat?" Neji suggested.

"Wow, your social skills are improving." Tenten remarked.

"I take that's a no."

"It's a yes!" Tenten snapped.

"Well if you're going to be rude…" Neji sat back down and Tenten stood up.

"How do we get out without setting off the tags?"

"He's a Jounin; it's too easy to get out," Neji sniffed dismissively. "Just jump into the trees."

"Why don't you do it first, genius?" Tenten asked.

Neji jumped out nimbly without setting off the tags.

"Why do you always act so damn cocky?" Tenten sighed as she followed him.

"Because I'm Hyuuga Neji." The said Hyuuga stood up.

"Yeah right," Tenten muttered.

"What was that?" Neji turned.

"Nothing!" Tenten smiled sweetly. "Where did you want to go?"

---x---

Tenten tried to walk home without Neji noticing, but found that she could not get more than a metre away from him; they were bound together by an invisible rope.

"The seals were activated once we left the box," Neji stated calmly.

"You knew this?" Tenten asked.

"No- it's just common sense." He scoffed, and Tenten rolled her eyes. "Let's go eat ramen." He suggested.

Neji found out that going to the ramen shop was a bad idea minutes later because Tenten knew the daughter of Ichiraku- Ayame, who naturally assumed the worst of them.

"Tenten!" Ayame smiled. "Tenten… are you-?" She couldn't finish the question.

"No." She sighed. "It's just my teacher's attempt to get us to reconcile our differences." She sat down on the stool and Ayame handed both her and Neji a menu.

"This doesn't change anything," Tenten muttered after they'd finished. "I'm still very angry at you."

"What?" Neji asked sarcastically. "I thought this was the start of something wonderful." He smirked.

"Ugh. I hate you so much right now."

"Will this change it?" Neji placed the correct amount of bills for both of their meals on the counter and dragged her off before she could object, or thank him.

"Hey!" Tenten stumbled onto him and caught onto his shoulder for a few seconds and then let go just as abruptly. "Stop pulling me along with this stupid rope thing!" she cleared her throat. "Not that I don't appreciate you footing the bill or anything, but this whole pulling me along while we're magically tied to each other isn't that polite!"

"You do realise we're in the middle of a street, and half the people think that we're walking far too close and talking way too softly to be normal, right?"

"Correction, you're the one talking way too quietly." Tenten smiled. "Come on, we'd better get back. I can't wait to be more than three feet away from you."

"And I thought that you we're getting used to the idea of being so close to me," Neji smirked.

"What? You actually thought this was the start of our new relationship?" she pinched his cheek. "That is _so _cute!"

"You know I am on the verge of murdering you right now." Neji muttered.

"Could it wait for a few days? I need to train for the Chuunin exam, you know, and you two can't enter the exam without me." Tenten smiled.

"I was being sarcastic."

"Right. I forgot about you being the king of sarcasm." She rolled her eyes.

"We've still got an hour left- why are you still arguing with me?"

"Because it's what I do best!" Tenten reasoned. "And apparently, it's what you do best, too!"

"I see," Neji nodded, although it was clear that he really didn't understand. "Why don't we just call it even for now?"

"Well, you still need to cut back on the arrogance… and the ego thing."

"You still need to stop talking."

"I didn't talk for three hours today!" Tenten snapped.

"Try being me, then." Neji smirked.

"It's not _that _hard." Tenten smiled. "All I have to do is talk about my hair, fate and training."

"Right, and being _you _is complicated?" Neji retorted. "Daichi loves me," he mocked. "And so does Ken! I want to be Tsunade and be the next Hokage."

Tenten cracked her knuckles.

"You really need to learn to think before you talk, Neji."

She punched him without a second thought and fell with him.

"That backfired on me," she muttered.

"You bet."

"But you've still got the black eye and I get to haul _you_ around for a bit." She hauled him up and they continued on their walk back to their training grounds.

"Then I get to give you a black eye and we're even."

"Something other than a black eye?" Tenten asked.

"How about …" Neji thought for a few moments before replying. "A kiss?" He smirked.

"I thought that you thought that love was for dreamers!" Tenten said. "Can I take the black eye?"

"You had the chance, Tenten." Neji admonished her. "And what does love have to do with anything?"

"You're such a pervert!" Tenten laughed, looking around. They'd arrived in the clearing designated to their team.

"There's nothing wrong with that!" Neji replied tartly. "I'm four months away from being an adolescent."

"Pre-pubescent male germs!" Tenten squirmed.

Neji held her still and took her left hand with his right. A smirk on his face, he gently pressed his mouth against the smooth skin on the back of her hand. She blushed and took her hand back, slowly.

Something flickered in her eyes.

"You know I am going to still kill you when we get the seals deactivated, right?" Tenten asked.

Gai-sensei approached them, apparently oblivious to what had passed. With a giant, twinkling smile on his face, he removed the seals.

"Have you learned your lesson?" He asked.

Tenten and Neji nodded.

"Well, then." Gai-sensei smiled and left the clearing. Tenten stood and walked over to Neji.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Hn,"

Tenten took that as an affirmative answer.

"Good." She snapped and abruptly punched him in the face with her left hand.

Neji's eye twitched.

"Don't try anything like that, ever again." Tenten snarled and walked off. "I can reduce your chances of having children, Neji."


	14. Sorry

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Sorry**

It was all over now. She blacked out after landing on Temari's fan, coughing up blood.

Neji's compliment had fallen on deaf ears.

Tenten hadn't known Lee had caught her until she woke up in hospital a few hours after the fight.

She'd missed her team mates' battles.

Hana was in the bed a few meters away from her. The girl's hair was shorn in a few places, there were several bruises and shallow cuts marring her fair skin and both of her eyes had been blackened.

"Wow, Tenten." Hana smirked. "You look really beat up. It's a good look for you."

"I'm afraid I can't say the same for you, Miss Panda-Eyes. The Mohawk doesn't do much for your facial structure, anyway." Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Ambushed a few times in the forest, the last girl thought she'd do me the honour of cutting my hair. I might be weaker than you but I still took her out." She smiled bitterly. "So," she said. "Aren't you going to ask about your team mates?"

"How did their matches go?" Tenten asked, eager for information.

"I didn't hear much," Hana shrugged. "But I heard from one of the medics that your team mate caught you after your opponent threw you off her fan!"

"Really?" Tenten was mildly surprised. They had received the lowest teamwork score in the forest of death, by all accounts. "Who was it?"

"That one… with dark, shiny hair."

"Do you have any more specifics?"

"He's male… and on your team."

"I said _specifics_, Hana."

"She means Lee, Tenten."

Neji entered the room and Hana bowed several times. Tenten pulled the curtain shut, blocking the other girl from view.

"Hey," Tenten greeted. "How was your match?"

"I won," Neji said tersely.

There was an undeniable stress troubling him and Tenten knew better than to press him for details.

"I'll need a sparring partner for the next month."

"Lee?" Tenten asked.

"Intensive Care Unit."

"Who was he matched against?"

"Gaara, from the Sand."

"I should have known." Tenten shook her head.

"An arm and leg were completely shattered, muscles torn from removing his weights and using both lotus positions."

"And?" Tenten prompted.

"Chakra gates."

Tenten sat back on the pillows.

"How many?" She asked faintly.

"Four."

"The Wound Gate?"

Neji nodded.

"Have you seen him yet?"

"No. They're letting no one in."

The kunoichi sighed.

"Do you know when you're leaving?" Neji asked.

"I don't know… hopefully today."

Neji shrugged and called a nurse into the room. She cheerfully checked Tenten's back and other vital signs.

"It seems like everything's in order, Tenten-san." She said, signing the clip board. "You still have some shallow cuts and your back will still be bruised from the tessen. There was some internal bleeding, but we fixed that; you just have to take it easy for a little while."

"Thank you," Tenten said. The nurse smiled and went to check on Hana on the other side of the curtain.

Neji passed the kunoichi her backpack and stepped out, also, allowing her to change into the spare tracksuit she had brought with her.

"Who was it?" Tenten asked quietly, touching the curtain. Neji pulled them back with a snap and met her eyes.

"You don't need to know. I have been matched up with Uzumaki Naruto for the final matches, in one month from today. I will need to work on my Kaiten."

Tenten sighed.

"Remove the fan from your _ass_, Neji." She snapped. "Why are you taking your anger out on _me_?"

"_You're_ the one who landed on the freaking fan."

"And I'm beginning to hope that you get matched up with Temari if you win this stupid thing so she can kick _your _ass, Neji." She picked up her pack. "You can find someone else to help you with your stupid training. Your uncle, perhaps?" she asked sarcastically. "I'm pretty sure he'd be surprised to find that you can do your stupid Head family moves."

She stormed out of the hospital without a word to anyone else.

"You're going to have to grovel, you know." Hana said to him.

"I don't need your advice." Neji retorted.

"She likes you, a _lot_." Hana kept talking. "I heard her say your name in her sleep. And I'm pretty sure you think about her, too. Anyhow, you need to say you're sorry. She's right- you do need to remove whatever there is up your ass because she'll never help you otherwise."

"I thought you were-?"

"Your fan?" Hana scoffed. "Please. You're _nothing _compared to the new rookie. He's just as strong as you are, some say he's stronger. Sasuke- the dark horse with a tragic past, dreaming only of vengeance." She said, as if she'd memorised it.

"Who said I didn't have a tragic past?"

"You're yesterday's news, Neji. And every girl knows that Sasuke's the cuter one. He even talks more than you, and dreams of building his clan once again." she smiled and giggled dreamily. "Uchiha Hana." She giggled yet again. "Hyuuga Hana. Hmm… maybe I'd fit in more in that family. But they've already got Hanabi… Uchiha Hana… I like that one more."

Neji left her to her ramblings and the lady at the reception table cleared their throats.

"Hyuuga-san?"

Neji recognised her as the nurse he'd called in minutes earlier.

"I couldn't help but overhear your little argument with Tenten-san… and, well, I'd just like to suggest something."

Neji rolled his eyes.

"What is it with _women_ telling me what to do?"

"Well, your problem does involve a _woman_, does it not?"

Neji shrugged. "Your suggestion, then?"

"Oh, right. Be nice and be tactful."

The Hyuuga rolled his eyes yet again.

"Is that all?"

"Chocolate can go a long way, or flowers. You have a month; relax!"

"But I need to start training _now_."

"No, you don't. If you want Tenten to be your training partner, then you need to give her the time to recuperate- internal bleeding, remember?"

Neji just sighed and left the hospital.

"You're welcome!" The nurse said.

---x---

The next morning, Tenten woke to find something in her room that hadn't been there the day before. Daichi's vase was back on her bedside table with a bouquet of purple hyacinths flourishing inside.

"Big mistake," She muttered, throwing the flowers out of her window and drying the vase. The kunoichi put it back into her drawer and noted that something was missing- something that had definitely been there the previous night. Something precious to her.

"Neji!" Tenten stormed into his room minutes later, panting and her hair askew. "I want it back _now_!"

"It's touching, really."

"I punched you the other day. I can do much worse today."

"The nurse said you had to take it easy." Neji stood up and buttoned up her top. "That might explain the weird looks you got this morning from the population of the village. It's a good look, though- the whole just-got-out-of-bed-look. It suits you."

"I can make sure you're impotent for the rest of your life, Neji." Tenten snarled. "Why did you take out the vase? If you want me to forgive you, you're heading down the wrong road. Firstly, reminding me of Dai is not going to help at all- which you did with the vase and the flowers, and secondly, please tell me you're wearing something underneath that."

"No," Neji answered. "You interrupted my shower."

She sighed, instantly averting her eyes. "And anyway, why did you take it? I want it back now!"

Neji could tell that she was seriously on the verge of harming him.

"Fight me," he said simply. "If you win, I'll give it back."

"And if I don't?" Tenten asked.

"Then I keep it for another day."

"Break it, and I will shove the shards into your eyes." She hissed and turned around. Neji knew she was not exaggerating nor lying.

"I _am_ sorry, you know."

Tenten stopped walking.

"Prove it," she said quietly, and stalked off.

---x---

Tenten didn't even say hello to him an hour later. Unless the said greeting was hidden beneath a wave of steel, Neji thought sarcastically. She was incredibly upset about the crystal pendant; it seemed to be what she needed after hiding things away in her mind for the past few weeks. She needed an escape route from her hidden anguish, and Neji was giving it to her.

Not that it was easy, of course.

Tenten was fighting hard, fast and dirty.

Neji blocked the second kick and smirked.

"Below the belt, Tenten. I don't think it's allo-"

Tenten grabbed his shoulders, jerked him closer to her and thrust up her knee into his groin.

The Hyuuga doubled over and curled up into a ball.

"Stop bragging," Tenten snarled. "You have it and I want it back. Now."

Neji disappeared in a ball of smoke and Tenten growled.

"I _will_ find you." she snapped, looking around.

"You're awfully aggressive today," Neji remarked.

"You think?" Tenten rushed at him with her sai and they continued their fight.

Blades tore at his shirt and nicked the trees around them as he drew her into the shadier, closer confines of the grove of trees. Neji's techniques did not go unnoticed- there were small red dots marring Tenten's skin in various places, the numbness fought off with a sweet, heady mix of chakra and adrenaline. But it would not last for long.

Her body was beginning to tire. With an agitated groan, she jumped and kicked the Hyuuga in the chest, rebounding and flipping backwards into the tree, using her sai to help her climb.

Neji smirked as he activated his Byakugan. She had five other clones surrounding him in the trees, all silently preparing something. It was going to be a big attack. The clone attacked first with a version of Soushouryuu. The weapons vanished in small puffs of smoke, clouding his vision momentarily. A senbon! Neji saw it too late, and it hit him in the back.

His blind spot.

She was angry enough to take advantage of it.

The other clones jumped in and threw more weapons down at him. Neji smirked, taking down the trees around him with his Jyuuken attack, constantly moving and jumping over fallen trees. Tenten cursed as she was pushed back further and further. Neji leapt nimbly out of the way of the small exploding tag that drifted down from the trees above, but Tenten threw an actual smoke bomb at him, the fumes assaulting his senses and stopping him from cutting the trees.

Tenten leapt among the branches in the canopy. The tree shifted- Neji was following her, watching her. He was dizzy from the fumes, though, his eyes watering. She scampered into the smoke and Neji frowned. Tenten could not withstand the-

The real kunoichi swung out her katana and it hit the back of his head, knocking him from the bough, back into the smoke.

Tenten's fifth clone dove into the smoke, setting up a web of traps. Neji, sensing her approach, began to spin rapidly and the metal fell as he set off the wires.

His formation was tighter than it had been about eight months ago and no senbon penetrated this time. The clone vanished against the whirling dome and Neji smirked, stopping his rotation.

Tenten's sixth and final clone jumped out and whipped out identical pink scrolls.

As soon as she saw the clone jump, Tenten pulled out her own pink scrolls, her fingers moving instantly. With a soft whisper, she summoned the dragons of smoke from the scrolls and flew into the sky with them. Beneath her, the smoke bomb finally cleared and Neji looked up, too late.

The clone's last trap went off and a kunai hit him in the shoulder, set off by a slight shift in his movements, and the prodigy winced as he resumed spinning.

No weapons fell, at first, and Neji wondered what she'd done- had something gone wrong? There had been only five clones and Tenten, counting six. She'd been foolish to leave her real attack until last.

"You missed the seventh," Tenten called out, knowing Neji could hear her. The sharp implements came not just from above, but also from the sides. The Hyuuga felt his chakra draining away at an alarming rate, but he knew that this was also Tenten's last attack; her chakra was almost all gone, too.

Her technique had improved vastly- she could make steel fly in a curved path, improving chances of hitting the target. But when her target was Hyuuga Neji, she needed a bit more than technique. She needed the element of surprise. So, when she flicked her hands to throw her weapons yet again, she unleashed her trump cards- five exploding tags. Neji's Kaiten kept spinning, but he could not stop the tag which had been buried underground, attached to a senbon.

Neji flew up into the air with the first blast. It set off the second, attached to a shuriken about five meters off the ground. He wasn't close enough to get badly burned- Tenten had made sure of that, but he still felt a lot of the shockwaves running through his bones. The chain reaction continued and Neji was now almost fifty meters off the ground with bits of metal flying around him like slivers of shrapnel. He smirked. He liked surprises like these.

Tenten jumped up and slammed into his midsection and drove him into the lake. Instantly winded and disorientated, Neji wondered why he hadn't seen the expanse of water.

The kunoichi dragged him out after thirty agonising seconds; the water was incredibly cold and deep, and the Hyuuga's body had not been able to adapt to the shock. Tenten kicked as hard as she could; her lungs and limbs were burning and Neji had taken in a few mouthfuls of water.

She pulled him out onto the bank and panted for a while, only hearing Neji's ragged breath as he coughed up the water. Tenten got up and rubbed his back as the tremors ran through his body. They finally collapsed back onto the ground, exhausted, staring up at the sky.

"You win," Neji smirked. "Just remind me never to steal from you again."

"You're not going to need a reminder," Tenten said sweetly.

"I liked the tags," Neji said. "And abusing my blind spot! I told you it was a secret so you could watch it; not so you could take advantage of it!"

Tenten shrugged and summoned her medical kit from her scroll.

"Sit up," Tenten commanded.

Neji propped himself up on his elbows and Tenten quickly removed his shirt.

"You couldn't wait to see me without one again, huh?"

"Don't flatter yourself, loser." Tenten replied with a humorous inflection in her eyes and voice. She cleaned the wound with the antiseptic swabs and bandaged it neatly and swiftly.

"So, what did you think?" Neji asked.

"What do I think of what?"

"The Kaiten."

"Prick," Tenten muttered.

"What was that?" Neji asked innocently.

"It's better…" Tenten smiled smugly. "But you could only spin three times today, and your chakra is too low to fight again for today."

"I can't say much for you, either," Neji smirked. Tenten rolled her eyes.

"You're a prick, Neji. Have I told you that?"


	15. Departures

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Departures**

It was all over the town when she woke up that morning; the last Uchiha of Konoha, gone with four shinobi from the Sound. Four of Konoha's own, led by the newest Chuunin had gone to take them back. Nara Shikamaru. Uzumaki Naruto. Inuzuka Kiba and his canine companion, Akamaru. Akimichi Chouji. Neji.

Tenten sat there, momentarily stunned.

"When did they leave?" She asked Lee.

"Soon after sunrise."

Tenten was silent as she looked at the impressive gates. Gates which Neji had walked through only a few hours ago, leaving, quite possibly forever, without a single word of goodbye.

Lee seemed to guess her thoughts.

"They were in a rush." He said quietly. "I'm sure Neji would have come back to say goodbye."

"Why aren't there any kunoichi on that team?" She asked quietly.

Lee could only shrug.

"Well, Sakura-san was very distraught. However, Naruto-kun's impressive good guy pose and promise was rather impressive. I was proud."

Tenten smiled and realised that Daichi leaving had never been such a big loss for Konoha. No one had doubted that he would return- even if he didn't, it would not be a problem to bring him back. But, then again, Daichi had never been tied to Orochimaru and an obsessive quest for power.

"He'll be alright," Tenten murmured. "He will come home."

There was nothing to do. The kunoichi had tried to pass her time with training but could not focus on anything. The deep sense of loneliness was like a toothache- all was fine until touched upon. She'd never told Neji, but she was sure that he knew.

Lee was going to have his operation and Gai-sensei was his support. She gave up trying to get along with her mother (sullen over a trivial incident, yet again) and left the house to look for someone to talk to.

Ken was working, but there were no customers. They were, apparently, too busy gossipping.

"Hey Ken," she said.

The boy was just as bored as she with nothing to do.

"Buy something, please." He begged her. "You'd think that life goes on… and all because Sasuke leaves, no one buys chocolate!"

"Saying hello to me would be nice."

"Hello, Tenten." He said sarcastically.

"Hi," She sat on the counter and sighed. Ken came out from the back and sat beside her. "I take it that you heard about Sasuke." Tenten said wryly.

"Yeah," He shook his head. "One bad apple."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tenten asked quietly. "It's not like-"

"You know, just as well as I do, that the noble clans of Konoha are not all as they seem."

"Well, you're right about that." Tenten replied.

"The vengeance streak runs strong in the Hyuuga family. I was there, you know, at the Chuunin exam."

"He's changed," Tenten snapped.

---x---

_Tenten approached the door after Hiashi left the room. His face was sombre and yet his eyes held some measure of peace. _

_She bowed at him as he walked past and he nodded, a small, hidden smile uplifting the corner of his mouth. It was amazing, really, how much Neji was like him. _

_They didn't exchange words, nor pause in their steps and the moment was gone. _

_Tenten placed a hand on the door and pushed it open. Neji sat on the bed, his head down and his eyes hidden from her. _

"_Hey," she said quietly. Her voice echoed in the empty room and she took several tentative steps towards him. Finally, he looked at her. Tenten was surprised. His eyes were not the eyes of a man who had lost. He was at peace, the anger gone. _

"_What happened?" She asked. "I saw your uncle in the corridor and I was just wondering…"_

"_It wasn't him, Tenten."_

"_Hmm?" _

"_The elders did not sentence my father to death." _

_Tenten met his eyes with a look of shock upon her face. _

"_He…" Again, there was that secret, hidden smile. The same look graced her own face. "He wanted to defy fate. And he did, as I will."_

"_I'm happy for you," she said warmly. _

"_Thank you." _

_The crowd outside roared for Sasuke and Gaara to come out (but to no avail) and Tenten sighed. _

"_I'm proud of you," she said quietly. _

_Neji smirked. "You're just saying that because you were the one who helped me train."_

"_You know what I mean. Not everyone understands your life, Neji." She smiled. "But things are different now, aren't they?" _

"_Yes," he said quietly. "Yes, they are."_

_Neji met her eyes. _

"_Thank you." He said with sincerity. _

"_You're my psychiatrist, remember?" Tenten reminded him. _

"_Ah, yes." He said quietly. "And that's because I'm so good at it, right?"_

_Tenten laughed lightly._

"_There's nothing wrong, Tenten." Neji said quietly. "I'm not angry that I lost."_

"_I know." She replied serenely. She smiled at him. "Come on," she said, standing up. "Can you walk? Let's go watch the others. I want to see how Temari does."_

---x---

"You're spacing out on me, Ten." Ken said, waving his hand in her face.

"Stop it, Ken!" She smiled, swatting his hand away.

"Someone has intimacy issues."

"I so do _not_ have intimacy issues!"

Ken flipped back over the counter and handed her a small block of chocolate.

"Thanks, Ken." She said quietly.

"Don't worry!" He said cheerily. "Everything's going to work out. I promise you. If not, you can get some chocolate."

"You're trying to make me fat, aren't you?" she asked. "And weren't you just saying someone about one bad apple spoiling the whole lot?"

"Like you said," Ken shrugged, "people change. Who wouldn't love you regardless of your weight?"

Tenten snorted. "About all of the male population of Konoha."

"So who is the exception?" He winked.

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to visit some friends. Can I have that really cute assortment box?" She pointed at the pale pink box. "Oh… well, actually maybe three of them." Tenten grinned sheepishly.

Ken shook his head.

"Women," he sighed.

Tenten poked her tongue out at him and laughed as she handed him the money.

"Have a good day, Ken." She smiled and left the small shop.

Yamanaka Ino leaned on the counter, distractedly working on a floral arrangement.

"The colours are clashing, Yamanaka." Tenten said quietly. The blonde jumped at the voice, nevertheless. She stepped back and looked at the garish colours. Stupid corporate function. They only wanted to prove that they were able to afford massive bunches of flowers.

"You're right," she said critically. She gently pulled the flowers back out from the foam and set them on the counter. "I take it you're not here to buy flowers."

Tenten smiled sadly, shaking her head. She handed the box to Ino, who gave a small smile in thanks.

"You know, a lot of people said that Sasuke-kun was an example of a true patriot to the village; a testament to the true power of the will of fire." She said bitterly, ripping open the box of chocolate. "How wrong they were."

"You make it sound like he destroyed the village."

"You know just as well as I do about the story of his past. He's never coming back, even if Itachi does die."

"Don't you have faith in your friends?"

"If it was just Sasuke, I probably would. He left with Orochimaru's henchmen. The Sound Four. With one for each person, Naruto will be left with Sasuke."

"And you don't believe Naruto can bring him back?"

"It worked with the Hyuuga… but Sasuke's long gone." Ino said sadly.

"What about his clan?"

"He's a missing-nin. He'll spend the rest of his life a servant to Orochimaru." She sighed, unwrapping yet another chocolate. "The chances of him coming back are… zero."

She scrunched up the colourful foil and Tenten sighed.

"How is everyone else?" Tenten asked.

"I don't know. Sakura's a mess. Hinata's freaked out with worry for everyone who left." She chewed her lip thoughtfully. "I heard something about calling in help from Suna if they're gone longer than forty eight hours."

"And you?" Tenten asked. "How are you?"

"I can't concentrate and I think I short changed about five customers today." Ino shook her head. "I'm out of my mind with worry. I need to get out of here."

"I was going to visit Sakura. Would you like to come with?"

"Yeah." Ino hung up her apron and ducked into the back of the store to tell her parents that she'd be leaving.

Haruno Sakura was trying to stay awake as she sat on the stone bench. She didn't see the two girls approach her.

"They've probably caught up with him, now." Ino said quietly.

"That's what I'd like to think." Sakura sighed. "I'm so tired I can't think straight."

"Why don't you sleep?" Ino asked.

"I can't. I just keep hearing him say goodbye to me, and I wish that I had gone with him."

---x---

_Tenten woke in the Hyuuga estate, but she was not in Neji's room. She slept on a futon this time, the screens on her right opening to a small garden, the screens to her left depicting a lush landscape._

"_I could have you arrested, you know that?" She muttered quietly. "You knocked me out to bring me to your house!" _

"_You haven't been sleeping much." It wasn't a question._

"_No," she said. "I haven't."_

"_How long?"_

_Tenten sat up, crossing her legs. She rubbed her forehead. _

"_Mid January. It started with small nightmares, nothing to worry about- just small, strange occurrences. By the beginning of February, the dreams were terrible and I woke up in a cold sweat, and I was having trouble getting to sleep. Now, I'm lucky if I snatch three hours a night." Tenten explained. _

"_You never showed signs of tiredness," Neji said. "It wasn't until now that I realised how bad it was."_

"_There's a law against stalking people."_

"_There isn't a law against looking out for someone." Neji returned sharply. "You can't achieve proper sleep if you have things going on in your head." _

"_Wow, psychologist _and_ a sleep doctor?" Tenten asked sarcastically. "That's an impressive résumé."_

_Neji slid the panels shut and pulled black screens over them, darkening the room in an instant. He lit a few candles scented with lavender and Tenten snorted. _

"_Trying to seduce me, Neji?"_

"_Why?" Neji asked. "Are you seducible?"_

"_Most definitely _not_."_

"_As I thought, then." Neji smirked as he placed himself on a small cushion. "Just relax."_

_Tenten did as he instructed but still fidgeted on the futon._

"_This feels weird."_

"_You should be tired," Neji reminded her._

"_What part of insomnia don't you understand?" Tenten asked._

"_Well, where does this insomnia come from?" _

"_I don't know… Sometimes, I just wonder that maybe, if I'd been there. If Dai and I had been there, none of this would have happened. They'd still be alive."_

"_That's irrational." Neji said quietly. "You blame yourself too much. Even if you had been there, you might not have been able to save them."_

"_So it wasn't their Fate?"_

"_We'll never know." Neji said quietly. She sensed him move and he placed his hand on her forehead. Tenten felt instantly drowsy. "Just sleep, Tenten. You'll feel better." _

_He'd been right about only one thing that day; she had taken the blame for something she might not have been able to help in the first place. _

---x---

"Don't blame yourself, Sakura." Tenten murmured. "I know what you're going through."

"What? Who was it? Neji?" Ino couldn't disguise her disbelief.

"Oh, he was before you two became Genin. His name was Yori Daichi."

"I heard about that. The parents were jewellers and they'd been murdered on their way home, leaving the son orphaned." Ino said thoughtfully. "I heard he was sent to live with another relative in Suna."

"He left the village on my birthday." Tenten said quietly. "In the middle of the night."

"Did you… do you love him?" Sakura asked quietly.

Tenten thought for a while before answering.

"I don't know. Both of his parents knew and possibly even loved me more than my own mother ever could, but Dai… he was different from everyone else. He was, and still is, my best friend."

"So will this boy come back?"

"He promised me he would."

Ino smiled cunningly.

"It seems to me that he likes you more than you like him."

Despite her current situation, Sakura's interest was piqued.

"So what's this boy like?"

"Sweet, cute, navy hair and piercing green eyes… he loves flowers," she added with a meaningful look at the blonde.

Smiling, Tenten left the two friends together and walked back into the main, busier areas of Konoha. She turned left and walked up the slight slope, past the Ichiraku Ramen stall.

Hyuuga Hinata sat glumly on the stool, rotating every now and then.

Tenten took a seat beside the younger girl, sliding the small box onto the counter.

"Hey, Hinata." Tenten said softly.

"Tenten?" Hinata turned to face the brunette.

"How are you?"

The young Hyuuga shrugged.

"I'm worried for all of them," she spoke with a slight hiccup. Tenten could tell that she'd been crying.

"Have faith in them," Tenten said quietly. "You know, in your heart, that they will come home."

"But will it all have been in vain?" Hinata asked suddenly. "Forgive me, Tenten. I did not mean to-"

"It's alright." She smiled sadly. "You know, I think that they're heroes in their own right."

Hinata smiled shyly.

"Yes," she replied. "They are."

---x---

Together, the four girls watched as Lee left on the second day. Tenten had said a quick goodbye, not wanting to delay his journey. Weights firmly strapped on, he had sped down the road after his friends. Tenten could only hope that he would be okay, and renewed her faith in her team mates. Lee had brought his medicine, after all.

They sat on the bench with a sigh.

"Why aren't we going?" Ino asked.

"Because if they're having trouble, what chance are we going to stand?" Sakura replied glumly.

"Sakura-san! Please, do not put yourself down like that!" Hinata gasped.

Ino glanced at her watch and sighed.

"I have to get back to the shop. I'll see you later, then"

"Yeah, me too." Hinata said. "My father wants to train with me today."

Sakura looked at the brunette.

"Do you want me to stay?"

Tenten shook her head with a smile.

"If you need to go, then you can."

Sakura smiled, and an understanding passed between the two kunoichi.

"Thanks, Tenten." She said quietly, and walked off to join Ino.

The kunoichi looked out west to the gathering clouds.

"Looks like a storm is coming," she murmured to herself. She could feel it on her skin.

Her gaze fell on a trio who had just walked through the gates. Tenten knew why they had arrived unguarded.

"They leave and yet I am still left behind, as are we all." Tenten said quietly, standing up and walking away.

Kenichi, just like Ken, had no customers present that day, and he wondered why Tenten came in.

"Hey!" He kissed her cheeks lightly. "What's up? Are you here to buy another killer dress?"

Tenten laughed.

"Yeah, right. That was for a mission."

"They suit you, though!" Kenichi reasoned.

"Stop trying to con me into buying a dress!" Tenten snapped, but she laughed anyway as she took a seat.

"So what's happening? Why did you come and visit?"

Tenten sighed.

"You don't live under a rock, do you?"

"Your boyfriend went with them, right?"

"He's not my boyfriend."

"He's not taken?" Kenichi asked.

Tenten laughed.

"Trust me, Neji is so _not _gay. He's a metro, maybe, but definitely not gay."

"Why are all the cute ones always taken?"

"Kenichi, Neji's _half_ your age!"

"Oh, well… that is a bit of a problem."

"You think?" Tenten asked sarcastically.

Tenten smiled. Kenichi was quite a character.

"So," the man said slyly, "why are you here today?"

Tenten sighed.

"It's one of _those_ days, isn't it?"

"No," Tenten replied defensively, "I just find it somewhat troubling that they haven't come back now."

"Worrying about your lover-boy, are you?" Kenichi crossed his hands over his heart and a dopey smile lit up his face as he stared into the distance.

"He's not my lover-boy." Tenten snapped. "Besides, I'm worried about everyone else who went, as well. Lee ran off from hospital to help them, and Suna-nin came in today. I just can't help but wonder how everyone else is doing."

"It'll be fine," Kenichi tried to assure her.

"You know, that's what everyone says." She rolled her eyes. "But I know that they aren't going to all come home."

Kenichi was about to interrupt but Tenten held up her hand.

"I know, I'm being incredibly pessimistic about this! I wouldn't normally be, but it's just that…"

"It involves four, possibly five diabolically evil people."

"Yeah, I guess." Tenten replied, puzzled. She looked outside. A storm was coming.

---x---

_The two teens sat beneath the shelter of their beloved oak tree, drops of rain coming falling down around their bodies. _

_Neji was the first to speak._

"_How have you been sleeping?"_

_Tenten shrugged. _

"_I sleep, a little, every night- if that's what you mean."_

"_Have you been having strange dreams at all?"_

_Tenten looked at him._

"_Is it in your best interests to know?"_

"_Of course." _

_Tenten sighed._

"_I had a dream that you left Konoha."_

"_Really? I do that a lot, you know."_

"_No, as in you left and never came back."_

"_I became a missing nin?" _

"_Technically, yes."_

_Neji was silent._

"_Would you ever?"_

"_No," Neji said simply. "Not now."_

"_What's keeping you here, then?"_

"_I used to think it was my hate for the Head family, and the only reason why I was still in Konoha was because I wanted to get stronger to defeat them all."_

"_But now?"_

"_It's different," Neji said evasively._

"_How different?"_

"_Different in the way I see others," Neji replied. _

"_Others? Like who?"_

"_Uzumaki Naruto, for one."_

"_And?"_

"_Hinata-sama."_

"_Aah. You're staying for your family as opposed to staying because you want to kill your family." She shrugged. "Makes sense to me!"_

_Neji rolled his eyes. _

"_Any other dreams?"_

"_Dai came home," Tenten replied quietly. _

_Neji looked away, and they didn't talk much for the rest of the afternoon._

---x---

Kenichi sighed.

"You're unusually quiet. How about you try on this one?"

He held up a gown and Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Really, time goes fast when you do something fun."

"Trying on clothes like a doll is not my idea of fun."

"Think about it like this. If you ever need to wear something like it on a mission…"

Kenichi waved the dress around.

Tenten sighed. "Why do you always get under my skin like that?"

It was in the middle of the night when Tenten woke up. The storm had come in towards sunset and continued on through the night.

The kunoichi pulled on her shirt and jeans, tugging on a jacket as she ran out of the room, making sure she had hair ties around her wrist. She left a note for her mother on the dining table – "Gone to hospital to check on team mates"- and opened the umbrella in the stand as she locked her door.

Two medics, a stretcher between them, ran past her. Time seemed to slow and Tenten saw his paling, clammy skin. She saw the gaping wounds in his shoulder and stomach, the teal mark on his feverish forehead revealed for all to see. His forehead protector slipped from his grip and onto the ground. The medics did not take notice and Tenten picked it up, the metal plate glinting in the fluorescent glow of the lantern.

"Neji," the kunoichi whispered silently, before making her way to the hospital.


	16. Recovery

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Recovery**

Neji woke silently. If anything, he was much more surprised to find that he had even woken up in the Konoha hospital at all than to find Tenten sleeping beside him. In her left hand, she clutched his forehead protector with the gash on one side, blood on the other side of the metal.

In her right hand, she held his.

Her hair was plaited but wisps of hair had escaped the hurried twists. Her clothes were wrinkled and her eyes were red rimmed; she'd obviously been crying, and in the hospital by his side for a few days. Even in slumber, she still retained the worried look on her face, akin to the expression she had carried when she'd heard about Lee's condition after his battle with Gaara.

Tenten seemed to sense his scrutiny in her sleep and her eyes opened, revealing her troubled thoughts and small sense of relief.

"Neji!" She breathed, hugging him tightly. Neji felt the slight pang of pain in his shoulder and back muscles and the kunoichi broke away, embarrassed. "I swear," she muttered darkly, "if I ever see Uchiha Sasuke ever again…"

"Please don't tell me you'll still think he's cute."

Tenten smiled.

"Jealous?"

"What, me?" Neji asked. "Never."

The kunoichi smiled again, although it did not reach her eyes.

"They didn't bring him back?" Neji asked.

Tenten shook her head.

"Chouji was in ER under Tsunade's care while you were being healed by Shizune. Lee came home relatively unscathed… although the Fifth had accidentally given him her sake instead of medicine."

Neji grimaced.

"Kiba had stabbed himself in a suicidal attempt to tear away the enemy's cells that had infiltrated his body and Akamaru had taken a lot of damage as well."

"And Naruto?"

Tenten sighed heavily and she looked away. For a moment, Neji feared the worst.

"He came home a day after you, chakra gone, completely exhausted, with Sasuke's scratched forehead protector in hand."

She shut her eyes and took several calming breaths. "It's so useless, Neji." Her eyes gleamed with unshed tears when she opened them again.

"Tenten? Are you crying?"

Daichi had said those very words on her twelfth birthday. The day they had all became Genin. It was already so long ago- and no one had known that these events would have ever happened.

She couldn't speak and turned into his chest, hiding her tears.

After a while, the tears subsided and her fingers touched his stomach at the exact spot where he'd been shot.

"The medics had never seen anything like it." Her voice was so soft he had to strain to hear her. "Entry and exit wounds were brutal. A long distance projectile, like a spear had been twisted through. It would have thrown you back more than fifty meters."

"It seemed like fifty thousand meters," Neji said wryly. "His name was Kidomaru. I think you might have liked him because of the way that he was so analytical about his opponents and battles, putting aside the fact that he did have six arms, a third eye and was manically evil."

Tenten did not smile at the joke.

"He did put several holes in you, Neji. I don't know why you're taking this so lightly." She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. "Especially since Shizune had to cut your hair and use it as a medium to heal your wounds completely."

Neji froze.

"She did _what_!?!?"

Tenten couldn't help but give him a genuine smile.

At that moment, Shizune walked in, ignoring Neji's baleful glare.

"It was that or let you die with your supernaturally silky and layered hair." She said dryly, checking and signing the clip board. Her eyes wandered around the various monitors and she walked over to him. "Trust me, it hurt to cut as well."

She waved the pencil torch in his eyes and took his temperature.

"Are you feeling okay?" Shizune asked. "Dizzy? Sick? Sore muscles?"

Neji sighed. "My shoulder and back hurt a little bit, like my stomach."

"Of course!" Shizune snapped. "What would you expect after getting so many bloody holes in you?"

Neji smirked.

"Tenten said something like that."

Shizune met Tenten's eyes and the younger kunoichi blushed and looked away.

"Hn," the woman sighed and left the room.

"Hinata and Hanabi came to see you a few times."

"How long was I unconscious?"

"You were in a critical state when they brought you in, and your operation took a long time; they had to keep a rotation of medic nin and Shizune was exhausted at the end of it. You weren't allowed guests for the rest of the day and the day after. You were out for a total of something like five days."

"What's wrong?" Neji asked.

"Nothing's wrong."

"You're not looking at me when you say that!" Neji replied tartly. "I haven't been your psychiatrist for the past nine months for nothing, you know! What is it?"

"You!" Tenten snapped.

Neji was taken aback.

"You had everyone worried for you- and there was nothing that we could do!"

"You were worried that I wasn't going to get out of this?"

Tenten just curled up by his side.

"Just… tell me more," she whispered, her eyes drifting shut again as his voice washed over her.

---x---

Neji was discharged from hospital the next day, with a warning from Shizune and the lady at the reception desk. The nurse was the same one who had tried to give the Hyuuga advice a few months ago.

"You must _not_ train for the next _week_, at the very least."

"Trust me," Neji said smoothly. "The last thing on my mind right now is training."

"And what is the first thing on your mind, Hyuuga-san?" She tapped her nose knowingly as Neji sighed, turning away.

"_Women_," he muttered.

Tenten was right behind him and she poked him.

"Yeah, Neji- what is on your mind right now?" She smiled as he rolled his eyes.

"I expected more from you, Tenten."

Tenten laughed. "Don't we all?"

They walked slowly through Konoha, Neji hiding his slight discomfort at most of his wounds. Tenten could sense he was tiring quickly and steered him in the direction of the Hyuuga estate.

"How are things going with your mother?" Neji asked quietly as they walked past the gates.

Tenten grunted. "The tension's pretty bad… especially since I've spent the past week or so at the hospital. She doesn't like it when I spend time there. I don't know what her problem is, you know?" She sat down on his bed, kicking off her shoes and crossing her legs. "I mean, she's always telling me what to do and what I should be like. I know she had a lot of expectations of me; and even though she did honour my father's wishes… she'd just hoped that I wouldn't have liked being a ninja as much as I did."

Neji walked into the bathroom, leaving the door only slightly ajar.

"Why don't you just move out?"

"I don't have enough money, unfortunately. I'm still dependent on her." She sighed heavily. Tenten heard the water start and she yawned. "I'm taking a nap, and a well deserved one, at that." She smiled and curled up on top of his sheets.

"You've been doing nothing but sleep every time I've seen you," Neji scoffed.

"What else did you expect?" Tenten asked with an audible sigh. "I've been spending time with you and your metrosexual ego; the latter which is more draining than the former."

"Ahh, I see." Neji said sarcastically. He let the hot water cascade over his skin as he sighed, the warmth spreading over his scars. They were faint and Neji was thankful that they weren't pitted, angry red sores.

"You sound like you're enjoying that shower more than you'd like to admit, Neji." Tenten said faintly.

"You have no idea."

"I need a mental eraser!" Tenten shouted.

"You always think the worst of me, don't you?"

"It's not personal, I swear- generally think the worst of _everyone_, Neji."

"Ahh, I see," Neji replied, shampooing his hair once again.

"You're creating a small sauna," Tenten remarked. "Are you sure you can see in there?"

"Oh, I'll call you in if I need help."

"Fat chance," the kunoichi smiled- Neji could hear it in her voice. "You'd have to prove to me that you are completely decent before I'd even touch that door."

"Well, I could be drowning and completely naked. Would you save me then?"

Tenten heard him squeeze the water out of his locks. Nudity was not as taboo to shinobi as it was to most of the public; they had been taught that there were better things to scream over.

"Probably not."

"Liar! I bet you'd be dying to save me!"

"Don't flatter yourself!" She snapped, but Neji knew it was just a tease. And that, he vowed to himself unconvincingly, was all it could ever be. "What are the odds that one of your relatives is going to burst into your room now?" Tenten asked. "That always seems to happen when I'm here."

"You've touched upon the answer, then." Neji rinsed out the conditioner and soap.

"And, another thing I've noticed is that things always wind up back at your place."

"Why is that such a problem?"

"Your family kind of scares me, what with this whole no-privacy-while-Tenten's-here-rule."

Neji turned off the water.

"Trust me; they aren't as scary as the elders' council."

"I don't want to meet them, then." Tenten sighed.

Neji came out of the bathroom towelling his hair dry.

"You're still here?" He asked.

"Where else can I go? It's boring at home and Lee's in some intensive solitary training scheme."

"I see." Neji nodded. He sat down on the bed and sighed. "It's good to be home."

"I can imagine," Tenten smiled, turning over to face him. "Nine months ago, no body would have foreseen this."

"Hn," Neji replied with a nod.

"So what were you thinking… after Kidomaru died?"

Neji was silent.

"I thought I was going to die. I knew I was dying… but I didn't care. I felt so sure that Sasuke would be brought home, and that I had done my duty to Konoha."

"Did you think you had lived a full life?"

"No," Neji admitted, "but I didn't fear death."

"Do you take anything for granted?"

"Being the one to ask all of the questions is one of them, Tenten."

The kunoichi rolled her eyes.

"I think I'll go annoy someone else, then." She slid off the bed and stuck out her tongue at the prodigy. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"I regret not spending more time with people… who I am proud to call my friends." Neji said suddenly.

Tenten turned around with a smile on her face.

"And I am honoured to be a friend, Neji." She paused before saying, "sleep well." She left the room and slid the door shut.


	17. Return

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Return**

_It was February 17th. _

It was three days after the much anticipated (and also somewhat dreaded in some people's cases) Valentines Day… and the night before the Lunar New Year.

Tenten, Neji, Lee and Gai-sensei were sitting on the roof of their old meeting area, looking out at Konoha. The festivities were already well under way and the streets were filled with revelling people- shinobi and civilians alike. All of the lights and lanterns were still on, even though it was almost midnight. The light from the village even illuminated the Hokage monument with the not-so-recent addition of Tsunade on the side. It captured her personality with spirit, Tenten thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Neji asked quietly. He was a Jounin, now- and life had changed him in more ways than one in the past three years.

It had all started with Uzumaki Naruto.

Tenten smiled.

"Nothing, really. Just admiring the view." She leaned back on the roof, looking up at the stars. On normal nights, the sky would be so impossibly black with hundreds of thousands of stars sprinkled liberally across the indigo heavens. Tonight, however, the stars shied away from the festival lanterns, outshone for one night out of many.

"And what are you thinking about?" Tenten glanced up at a man she'd grown to love, in a secretive way. Neji was her team mate and best friend, as was Lee, and she loved the latter with an intensity akin to that of the love felt by a sister for her brother. They could be frustrating, but they were her family, bound by the will of fire that resided deep in the roots of Konoha.

"I was just thinking about…"

Tenten sat up.

"… The new year," the Hyuuga concluded lamely.

The kunoichi groaned as she thought about tomorrow.

"What is it?" Lee asked, suddenly concerned. "Did you eat too much?"

"No, Lee." Tenten sighed- more at herself, than Lee. "I have to be in my mother's best friend's fashion show tomorrow."

"_You're_ going to be in tomorrow's fashion show?" Lee asked.

"I just said that," Tenten mumbled.

"Why is it such a big deal?" Neji asked, obviously confused.

"You don't know what it's like to walk down that stage and have _everyone_ stare at you." Tenten shivered. She liked to keep to the shadows and draw no one's attention; it was in her nature and shinobi who attracted unnecessary attention were all the more likely to have an incredibly short career.

"Just pretend that everyone is-" Lee began to quote.

"- In their underwear?" Tenten finished. "I think I almost fainted the last time I did that when we had that public speaking seminar. But my mother promised that this would be the only time."

"I doubt it." Neji smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

It was her once-mentor who answered her question. Out of habit, everyone still called him sensei.

"Whatever happens to you on the New Year's Day, a chain will follow."

Tenten groaned.

"… I think that could actually happen." She paled. "I could become Aiko's full time model for each season."

Gai-sensei chuckled. "I don't see why it's such a problem- your truly beautiful _youthful spirit_ will shine through and everyone will see it for the first time!"

"I thought I showed my youthful spirit three years ago…" Tenten muttered to herself with a smile on her face.

The older man still heard her, though.

"Yes, but that is only a spark compared to your inner flame of strength!" His voice was still as loud as ever, and the words echoed around them, soon lost upon the wind.

Tenten smiled.

"Thanks, Gai-sensei."

Midnight came minutes later, bringing with it an abundance of fireworks that went off over the village, showering the skies with sparks. Tenten sighed dreamily as she leaned back on the picnic blanket.

Neji looked down.

"You look awfully dreamy," he commented.

Tenten smiled.

"I'm somewhat tired."

"I wonder why, Tenten." Neji said sarcastically. "Why aren't you at home tonight?"

Tenten shrugged. "They're working on all the last minute touches. The dress I have to wear is the worst, though. They have to start from scratch again and again because something _always_ goes wrong."

"I see," Neji said.

"And why aren't you home?" Tenten asked.

Neji shrugged. "I didn't want to be," he replied elusively.

Tenten smiled, sighing and curling up on top of the rug as she stared out to the village.

"Your birthday's in a few weeks," Neji said quietly as he settled down beside her, staring up at the fiery flashes in the sky of different sparkling hues.

"I know," Tenten replied with a slight strain in her voice.

She both dreaded and anticipated the day of her 16th birthday- and it was no secret, to the both of them. It could be summed up in a word or, rather, a name. Daichi. Daichi, a boy she had promised her heart to. Daichi, a boy who had run away to avenge his parents' deaths. Daichi, a boy who would return as a man, changed.

"Hey, Neji?" Tenten looked up at him.

"Hn?"

"Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year, Tenten."

---x---

The next day, Tenten woke late to find that the house was already empty. The bolts of fabric which had been strewn about the lounge room last night were folded neatly on the coffee table. The long racks of clothes and dresses which had filled up the study were long gone and Mai, Aiko and Sadako had vanished with them, along with the other thirty or so girls.

There was a note on the kitchen table- Mai had reminded Tenten to meet her in the centre of the main square in Konoha at around ten thirty in the morning, skin and hair squeaky clean.

The kunoichi yawned, stretching out stiff joints.

When she opened her eyes again, Neji was sitting on the counter.

"Why are you here?" Tenten asked sleepily.

"Happy New Year," he replied mildly.

"If I remember correctly, you said that to me last night right before you fell off the roof."

Neji smirked, watching Tenten as she raided the fridge for something edible. Unfortunately, the 'models' who had been in her house all night had seemed to eat everything present.

With a frown on her face, she searched the cupboards for anything edible. Resigned, she leaned back on the counter.

"This sucks," she moaned. "Why are you still hanging around like a bad smell?" She shot at Neji, who shrugged.

"I'm going to go get some breakfast." She walked out the back door.

"Aren't you going to get changed?" Neji called after her.

She stopped walking.

"Fine," she grumbled, walking back inside.

---x---

After having a long breakfast in the market place, Tenten and Neji walked through the massive crowds all wearing their best clothes in bright, summery colours, munching on sweet pastries.

"I thought you're supposed to spend New Year's Day with your family, Neji."

Neji shrugged. "They took a family trip somewhere to see some other relatives."

"They went off, without you?"

Neji nodded.

"That's weird."

"She hates Branch members, apparently- only the Head family went to see her." There was still that tightness in his voice when he spoke of things like the Head-Branch system.

Tenten nodded, averting her eyes. It made sense, but she always felt slightly uncomfortable when her team mate spoke of the age old scars that still remained, running treacherously through the veins of his cousins, uncles and aunts. Years later, Tenten would only remember that he had been such a good actor.

They continued to walk along the busy streets, completely surrounded by a massive crowd.

"I bet you anything my mother's going to pop out any second, now, even though it's only ten."

Neji rolled his eyes.

"I doubt that." Mai was a scatterbrain _civilian_ with no ninja traits that she could have passed down to her daughter apart from her somewhat ordinary and (although Neji would not admit it- _yet_) pleasing features.

"Tenten!" Mai called out. The kunoichi turned.

"Told you," she muttered to Neji.

"Tenten, darling!" She looked at Neji and decided to ignore him, for now. "Where have you been? I was looking for you!"

"What's going on?"

"Well, you're needed for our _special_ event!"

"It's not even-" Tenten tried to back off, but Mai was surprisingly strong and swift.

"Come along, now, dear!" she dragged her daughter away, leaving Neji alone.

The prodigy sighed. It looked like he'd just have to follow them to see what was happening.

"I am not going to-"

"But Tenten, darling, you _promised _me!" Mai reasoned.

"I never promised you anything!"

"You _did_! You told me that if you got in trouble, you'd accept your punishment."

Tenten made her last ditch attempt with a bribe. "I'll cook for three months straight!" Tenten argued. "Just not _this_!"

"You're not getting out of it this time!" Mai said, firmly pushing her daughter behind a curtain with an armload of robes.

The kunoichi turned around to see her mother's friends around her. They smiled like conniving wolves and she shivered.

---x---

"I am _not_-"

"But I bet that lovely boy you were with will be out there." Sadako reasoned.

"What's his name again?" The blonde looked up from doing Tenten's hair. "Oh yes," she smiled. "Hyuuga Neji." She smiled dreamily. 'If only I was ten years younger, I would-"

"Please, Aunty Aiko… I don't need to know." Tenten repressed a shudder.

"But he _is_ good looking. The boys around your age are quite a travesty… apart from that other boy. The one who left."

"I would never think of Dai in that way!"

"Ah, but who said that I was talking about Daichi?" Aiko asked slyly.

Tenten blushed.

"You think I'm not as sharp as you because I'm not a shinobi, but I know things like this." She smiled. "There's nothing wrong with young love, dear. It's the best time of your life!"

Mai came into the room, before Tenten could reply, clapping her hands.

"It's about to start! Girls, are you ready?"

The various other twenty nine girls in the room nodded. The kunoichi groaned.

"No," she said. "I don't want to do this!"

"Okay, girls! It's time!" Mai said brightly. "Remember, I want lots of energy, and lots of smiling!"

The music began and they walked down the catwalk.

"I am _not_ going to do this." Tenten groaned.

"Tenten, stop whining." Mai sighed tiredly. "You told me that you were a kunoichi- so are you going to do this, or not? I could just make you walk out there naked, you know."

The weapons mistress stopped breathing for a full twenty seconds.

"Fine," she snapped.

---x---

Neji, Lee and Gai-sensei watched the line of girls parade down the strip in modern dress designs. They were around his age; some older, some younger (some he even _knew_), all wearing a different shade of pink (that was the theme every year; sakura flowers). He considered walking away to wait for her somewhere else. It was such a waste of time…

"Neji," Gai-sensei said with an uncharacteristic solemness. "You might consider this a waste of time, but Tenten needs to borrow your strength and confidence."

Neji, albeit grudgingly, nodded and crossed his arms as he leaned on the tree behind him.

"And finally, the last piece that Sakura Designs has to offer- also available with the other dresses to be sold at the exclusive Sakura Boutique…"

Tenten hesitated as she saw the people who had come out to see Aiko's fashion show. There were just so many of them… and that was when she spotted Neji's face in the crowd, standing beside Lee and Gai-sensei. The two green clad shinobi had identically bright smiles on their faces and their thumbs up, high above their heads. She shut her eyes for a few seconds, wishing she was somewhere else. Then, steeling her resolve, she opened her eyes and smiled, putting out one bare foot in front of the other.

Cheers erupted, along with several catcalls.

Neji turned to see Tenten, _his_ team mate Tenten, in a completely new furisode. Like the others, she was wearing pink but it was closer to white. As far as he was concerned, there was only one layer- the chiffon, with lining stitched beneath only around her body and leaving her arms and the last few inches of the dress visible through the sheer fabric. The sleeves were still incredibly long, but the hem of the kimono fell only three-quarters of the way down her thighs.

Neji's throat went dry for not the first time that day.

A wreath of sakura flowers adorned her head, doing nothing to restrain her free flowing locks, with small, sparking pink stones interwoven with the small blossoms. A similar wreath was wrapped around her right wrist and left ankle, drawing attention from the identical golden tattoos on her left wrist and right ankle as she walked… but Neji saw _everything_.

And there was nothing really he could complain about.

There was no obi to speak of ("It's a wrap dress," Tenten explained later.) and the actual sleeve length was shorter than usual- it fell, once again, three quarters of the way down her arm (what _was_ it with this designer and three quarters?).

Tenten went barefoot, like the other girls who were now parading down the catwalk once again, and fell into formation with the others.

"And now, the creator of Sakura Designs…"

Neji had somewhat tuned out by that stage, his attention focused on Tenten who was walking beside a blonde haired woman, also dressed in a pink frock. She smiled saucily at Neji – or had he imagined it? - And hugged Mai, and then Tenten. She bowed at the audience (mainly male, Neji noticed) and waved as the girls slowly filed off stage.

---x---

"Here."

Tenten looked up, and grinned at Neji. He handed her the shoes that Mai had thrust upon him, instructing him curtly to tell Tenten to wear them.

"I'm not allowed to change," she grumbled, removing the wreaths. "I've become a walking advertisement for Sakura Designs as Aiko's centrepiece." She sighed, crossing her legs to put on her shoes. Neji's fingers twitched involuntarily.

The kunoichi missed the gesture, uncrossing her legs and standing up.

"Where to next?" she asked him as they walked out of the dressing rooms.

Neji shrugged.

"Somewhere… I guess you're not allowed to get that dirty, right?"

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Duh."

They left the small, makeshift dressing room and blended back into the crowd as Tenten greeted Lee and Gai-sensei with a fond hug.

"Tenten!" Lee cried ecstatically. "You look wonderful!"

"Thanks, Lee." Tenten smiled gently.

"So where are we going now?" Lee asked.

"We're going for a picnic at the park!" Gai-sensei exclaimed, procuring a large, red picnic basket.

Tenten could only smile as she remembered the many picnics their team had been on.

"Okay, then."

Together, the quartet set off to one of the many parks, weaving through the crowds, Neji and Tenten walking side by side in a companionable silence.

"What do you want for your birthday this year?"

The tension around them seemed to suddenly solidify and they were trapped, all because of a not-so innocent question.

"Neji…" Tenten's voice was pained.

From the way her eyes slid shut and her body tensed, it didn't take a genius to figure out that she was troubled.

"You never got over it." Neji's voice did not accuse her.

"Not until I see him, again."

"And what then?"

"I have my closure."

They didn't want to think about what would happen if he did not come back.

---x---

_It was March 9th._

It was the day that he had promised her that he would return on this exact date three years ago. The sun was kissing the horizon after taking its course through the sky that day.

Tenten sat on a swing, looking at the symbol of Konoha that hung above the lintel of the wooden doors that permitted entrance to the ninja academy. A lonely wind whistled through the leaves like a tormented ghost.

There was a hand on her back, suddenly, and she heard a voice she had not heard for exactly three years and seventeen hours.

"It's a bit late to be out, don't you think?"

A smile lit up her face as she was pushed out, rocking back and forth with the motion of the swing.

"I'm waiting for someone, you see."

"Well didn't that someone say that he'd be waiting at your house?"

"Perhaps."

His earthy scent washed over her like his voice, raising all of the hairs on her body.

"Tell me, how long has it been since you've seen this person?"

A sob choked her voice.

"Too long, Dai."

She jumped off the swing and he strode forward, out of the shadows. Without missing a beat, she ran to him and jumped into his waiting arms, her lips finding his without hesitation.

It was just like everything that she had imagined- and the years fell away between them.

Their tears began to mingle and both Dai and Tenten could suddenly taste the salt in their mouths- all the tears they would have cried together for love and time lost between them and his parents were now flowing freely and unchecked. The grief which both of them had stored away in their hearts tore itself free and they broke away, smiles on their faces but tears on their cheeks. They would finally heal, together.

Tenten looked down at him, tracing his features with her fingertips. Running her hands through his scruffy navy hair, she leaned forward and kissed his forehead.

"Your hair's still the same…" Her voice was soft and husky.

Her fingers did not linger, gliding softly down his still damp cheeks, around his eyes and to his lips. He kissed her fingertips with a light smile on his face.

"But worry has lined your face and the sun has tanned your skin." She smiled. "In any case, you look a lot older than 16, Dai."

Daichi reached up, unbinding her hair and letting it fall around them like a curtain. He ran his hands through the strands.

"You washed it for me," he murmured with a sly smile. Her conditioner had changed but it was just as smooth.

Her face was more angular, losing the roundness it had possessed when she was younger. Her cheekbones were high and her almond eyes shone with happiness as her mouth curved into a genuine smile.

Daichi lowered her back to the ground, her knees buckling slightly.

"You're taller than me," she pouted. Daichi just grinned and kissed her once more.

"And that's a good thing." He whispered, pulling her closer to him with an arm.

She leaned on his shoulder with a content sigh.

"Welcome home, Dai."

"It's good to be home, Ten." He replied fondly, and they walked home, his arm around her shoulders the entire time.

In the deeper shadows of the alleyways, hiding amongst the shadows within shadows, Neji watched with a frown etched on his face.


	18. Look At Me

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Look At Me**

They lay together, beneath the stars on her roof. They hadn't done such a thing since they had been merely eight. Nothing had changed amongst the heavens, but on earth, things had changed so much more than they could have ever imagined.

Tenten's head rested on the crook of Dai's arm, the shorter strands of his dark hair intermingling with her longer ones. There was still a lot unsaid between them, but there was no hurry.

"Hey, Dai?" Tenten murmured quietly, almost tentatively, "did you ever…?"

She didn't finish her question.

Daichi didn't answer her for a while.

"I missed you all too much to ever turn to another woman, despite the lonely years." He grinned cheekily. "I just hadn't imagined returning to find you so… changed."

"Is it a good change?"

His eye twinkled slyly.

"Definitely… I think it's the view."

Tenten, catching his drift, playfully poked him in the ribs.

"Pervert," she muttered in his ear. "My poor, innocent Dai is lost and gone, only to be replaced by a lump of testosterone."

The silence settled comfortably between them like a content cat, curling up to sleep.

"But I never found him." Daichi said suddenly with a sharp edge to his voice. "I found his men, the men who had helped him and I-"

His voice broke.

"I couldn't," he whispered. "Every one of them had a family, a child, a life… and I could not bear to tear out what they'd torn out of my life…"

Tenten smiled sadly.

"You know the value of life, Dai… and that's what separates a villain from a hero."

"I still miss them, I think." Daichi said quietly. "Have you…?"

"I can't even look at the front gate."

"I need to go back inside, tomorrow."

"I… I'll come with you."

She took his hand.

---x---

The garden had grown swiftly, tangling in its hinges, nooks and crannies and the dark corners of the shadows. The front gate opened only after Dai had dealt with the stubborn ivy that had initially refused to let it go. The bougainvilleas had, without tending, grown thick and wild, escaping the trellises and lattices, aggressively spreading its thorny tendrils throughout the garden. Moss covered the rocks on the path and filled in the little cracks and crevices between.

Tenten took out the key from her left pocket and turned it in the lock, the sharp click echoing in the empty house- no longer a home.

The door swung open with a creak that spoke of years of disuse. Daichi held Tenten's hand slightly tighter as they stepped over the threshold of a house they had not entered for years.

Everything was as they had remembered. No one had dared to break in or rob the home and it had remained, thankfully, intact in the Sound's invasion.

A stray wind blew through the door, its eerie siren dying away within the dark living room. Dead leaves scattered through the air like ashy moths, fluttering away like faded memories.

But, years on, the ghosts of emotion and love still lingered within the lonely niches and shadows of a once home. There was a sudden screech of old wood grating against long neglected metal as the curtains wrenched themselves back from the window, the strong sunlight streaming though the glass panes.

Tenten shot a quick glance at Dai, who shrugged.

"I learned to control all things that once grew and flourished in the earth."

The kunoichi grumbled, "Show off," before talking a few more steps into a house that she had once considered her second home. Now, it was just filled with the ghosts of her innocence and her childhood with Dai.

They had broken the silence within the house; for the first time in three years, they were going to confront the huge rift in their hearts.

"It's not so bad," Daichi said with a small tremor in his voice, still gripping Tenten's hand tightly.

"No… It's not."

They both knew that it wasn't the same. But they would do their best to fix it.

At the end of the day, the white sheets that had tried to shield the furniture from dust had been washed and hung on the line to dry, the myriad of dead insects washed from the sink and the dead leaves and thick dust vacuumed up or swept away. They had yet to even look into the workroom, though. It was littered ghosts of memories- too many of them- to face right now. The pair ordered their dinner from Ichiraku Ramen and Ayame had exclaimed in surprise when she saw Tenten in the house, with Daichi. Both were covered in dust and dirt, Tenten's loose shirt was slipping off one shoulder and her hair had teased itself free of its single ponytail. Dai's hair was scruffier than ever, the lean muscles of his chest exposed to the cool spring breeze that breathed gently into the house, gently washing away the musty smell of an old house and bringing in the light scent of roses and lilacs.

"Daichi!" Ayame said perkily. "I didn't know that you were home!"

"Ayame," Dai replied evenly, watching how Ayame's eyes gleamed in a coy fashion. "I came home a week ago… and Tenten's helping me do some spring cleaning."

Ayame smiled prettily. "Well, if you ever need my help, and Tenten's not around, don't wait to call!"

Daichi smiled lopsidedly, but gave no response. When the older girl left, he spoke in Tenten's ear, "She seems to have forgotten that she called me 'a rascal with no chance of ever getting a decent girlfriend.'"

"You were younger, then. We all were." Tenten's voice was warm as she smiled. She opened the box and kneeled at the low table, setting out the bowls and dishes. Daichi joined her as he rubbed his sore back, knees cracking as he knelt. Tenten flashed a cheeky smile at him- one that he returned.

"So, when's your mother coming home?"

"Not for a week or so; she had to 'deal with something' in Tanzaku City… I think she's on a holiday or something with her girl friends."

"Lucky for us, then." Daichi said with a smile.

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"I have things to do," she said loftily, turning up her nose to him.

"Well!" Daichi said with a chuckle, "Someone seems to have gotten all high and mighty! Are you sure you haven't been hanging around him too much?"

"I'm positive," she laughed.

After eating, Tenten insisted on taking the bowls back, while Daichi showered.

The young kunoichi hadn't bothered to change, so she blushed furiously when she crashed into a certain Hyuuga.

"Tenten."

Neji's hands were warm and heavy on her shoulders, and the shirt was properly aligned once again- he really was a freakish prodigy of some kind, Tenten mused.

He had never touched her skin.

"Tenten," Neji's voice had a kind of undertone to it… amusement, perhaps?

"Stop laughing at me," Tenten said immediately, her eyes downcast.

"Look at me."

Slowly, her lashes unveiled her chocolate eyes, warm with life, love and laughter. Neji was momentarily taken aback. It was a look in her eyes that had been missing since Daichi had left.

"I've been looking for you all day."

The kunoichi was silent for a moment, drinking in the sight of the Hyuuga. He'd changed his outfit a few years back and with his old clothes had gone his old way of looking at things; he was "considerably more cheerful" as some had said… or "damn right freaky, still." He wasn't so hell bent on vengeance, though. They'd all learned the price that Revenge could charge you once she took you for her disciple.

It was there, in that moment, drenched in the sunlight, that Tenten realised that they had changed. They both had- and it had just taken some time it to sink in. Neji's powers had changed; he could be more subtle in the application of his power and his range had increased dramatically since they had first been Genin. Tenten, on the other hand, had improved in speed, weaponry technique and, on a side note, sewing. Not that Neji had to know, anyway.

"Oh? Oh!" Tenten took a step back as she was startled out of her reverie- they'd had a team exercise that day; she'd just been too overwhelmed by everything… by _Daichi_… to remember.

"Don't let it happen again."

And he was gone, lost in the cool shadows behind her.

The kunoichi couldn't resist temptation. She turned around, the scent of his semi-bound hair still lingering in the breeze, a small smile on her face as she watched his back. Suddenly, as if sensing her gaze, the Hyuuga turned, and Tenten's smile grew. Neji inclined his head, turned, and kept walking. With a slight blush on her cheeks, Tenten bit her lip and she walked back to Ichiraku Ramen to return the box.

---x---

The next day, Neji walked to the training grounds to find it empty, as it had been for the past week or so. No new scars had been scratched onto the tree's bark and no holes had been made in the ground, scarce patches of grass growing pitifully back into the void.

The Hyuuga frowned. Once, he would have considered it folly for his team mate to become so wrapped up in one person she forgot to train for a week. However, it was _him_. Neji had to grudgingly admit that Daichi was a completely different case.

Even so… it was _training_. She was a kunoichi who had stubbornly refused to stay home when it was threatening to storm and rain just to train, and then refused to stay home because she'd caught a cold from training in the midst of a hail storm.

Nevertheless, that had happened years ago.

---x---

Tenten woke silently, without moving or changing her breathing pattern. But she knew who it was before she opened her eyes- he would know she was awake by watching her chakra.

"Glad to see you still kept some of your skills." His voice was a mere whisper.

Tenten raised her head from where it lay on Daichi's bare chest. She stood up silently, putting the thin blanket back over Dai's prone body. He didn't stir.

She tugged on a sleeved shirt over her singlet top to guard against the slight chill of the early spring dawn and walked out the front door and into her own home, Neji following her.

Tenten put on the kettle and looked at him sternly.

"What is it?"

Neji smirked, leaning on the counter top as he slung his jacket over the sleek stool.

"And what is that _look_ for?" She demanded huffily.

Neji didn't reply- he only watched as she retrieved the teapot and two cups from the cupboard above the kettle. Tenten's hands moved deftly, even if her mind was still slightly sleepy- a luxury that she still enjoyed every now and then.

"You haven't been training for a few weeks."

"I was going to go today."

"When?"

"Later," she grumbled.

Neji smirked.

"You've changed," he remarked as she poured the hot water into the teapot, the two of them waiting for the strong tea leaves to diffuse.

"You say that like you haven't seen me in years."

"It seems like it."

"What does that even mean?"

"I haven't seen you in a while, that's all." Neji shrugged.

Tenten tilted her head to the side, her bangs sweeping across her cheeks. A catlike smile etched itself onto her face and her eyes gleamed with a cheeky slyness.

"Are you jealous?" she teased, pouring the tea with a natural grace and ease.

"Why, me?" Neji asked, inclining his head in thanks as he sipped at the strong, sharp tea. He met her eyes with a playful challenge. "Never."

Tenten stepped outside once again and sat on the small iron wrought bench, painted cream but rusting and flaking in between delicate spirals and metal flowers.

It had been a while since they'd sat together, in her backyard, in silence.

"It's good tea," Neji said. "I like the flavour."

"I doubt you came here just to talk to me about the flavour of jasmine tea that is not diluted enough for my own liking."

"No," he replied simply, "I didn't."

They didn't prompt each other to continue their sentences.

"I didn't know you were staying with …"

"Dai?" Tenten finished for him, as always. "It's temporary. My mother's in Tanzaku City. We're cleaning up the house. And I don't suppose you came here to ask why I'm staying with a childhood friend who lives across the street."

"I came to ask why you haven't been training." Neji snapped, tired of her snide remarks.

"Can't I take a break every once in a while?"

"Well I'll see you later, when you're not on a break."

"Can't you accept the fact … that I'm a different person, now?"

"Who said anything about change?"

"_You_ did! Five minutes ago! Besides, who said anything about not seeing each other? You make it sound like I'm leaving the village or something."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you did, right now."

"What's your problem? Seriously, if I didn't know any better, I'd think that you were only acting like a sulky four year old because you're jealous of the fact that now that Dai's home, you have to fight with me to get my attention!"

"I miss talking with you."

"Damn _straight_ you should!"

Wait.

_What?!_

"I don't need this," she said suddenly. "I'm … with _him_, now. And I can't. And I had promised myself to him, even before he came home."

"You're not making any kind of sense at all," Neji said, his cool façade masking his troubles once more. "It was nice talking to you, Tenten. Thanks for the tea." He placed the cup on the sundial and walked out of the garden, the grass crushing underfoot and releasing a bitterly fresh smell into the warming air.

Her own cup joined its partner moments later as she wrapped her arms around her knees.

"Ten?"

Tenten looked up at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Hey."

Daichi hesitated.

"I didn't hear you get up."

"Oh, yeah." Tenten thought quickly. She saw his eyes flicker to the tea cups. "Would you like some tea?"

"Yeah, that'd be great."

Tenten handed him the teacup and looked at her own china cup, still warmed from Neji's hands.

"What was that?" She looked up.

"I was thinking that we could go out for breakfast… maybe go grocery shopping afterwards…"

"Um, yeah, that's a good idea. I'll just shower and change first." Tenten disappeared into the house.

Daichi frowned as he, too, entered the meticulously clean kitchen, and spotted a jacket on the chair.

It belonged to Hyuuga Neji.


	19. Promise

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Promise**

Tenten thought about the Hyuuga as she showered; contemplating the words he had said, turning them over in her mind until they lost all meaning, but the sound of his voice did not lose its quiet anger.

The kunoichi emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, fully dressed with her hair twisted up into its customary buns, with a lily slide comb pinning back her long bangs on her right side.

"This suits your colouring well," Daichi observed, stroking the edges of the glass lily. "You bought it?"

"Oh, it was a gift." Tenten replied dismissively. "Are you ready?"

The youth nodded and they left the house together, Tenten's thoughts troubled.

The couple had breakfast in the marketplace, eating only a little and saying just as much.

"You're quiet today." Daichi's voice was guarded.

Tenten smiled up at him. "So are you."

They lapsed into silence once again, awkward tension settling between the young couple like a wire being pulled taut.

"So how is Neji doing these days?" Daichi asked, straining to keep his tone casual.

The weapons expert shrugged, keeping her eyes averted. "I wouldn't know. I haven't seen him in a while."

"I would hardly call half an hour 'a while.'" Dai remarked wryly, watching as Tenten's face remained calm, her eyes sliding shut as she exhaled.

"I did see him," Tenten confessed. "I didn't talk to him for long, though. He's…"

Daichi arched an eyebrow as he sipped at the hot coffee.

"… still difficult to read."

It was an outright lie, of course. Tenten had seen the rigid lines of Neji's body that expressed the wordless tension that grappled with his mind and strained their relationship. She knew him almost better than she knew herself. The Hyuuga was unhappy at her situation, at best. She didn't want to think about the worst case scenario.

"You're getting better at lying, Ten. But it's not enough to fool me." He hesitated before continuing. "I might not know you the way that I used to, but I know you enough to tell you that you're lying to me… and also to yourself."

Tenten glowered at him. "Well, _sorry_, then."

"And that sounded _very_ sincere."

"Just get off my back about this, please?"

"You had a fight with him?" Daichi fiddled with a toothpick.

Tenten hesitated briefly. "You could call it that."

"Well, you might need to go and sort it out."

"I don't need your opinion on this, Daichi." Tenten leaned forward and rubbed her temples. "I'm sorry," she sighed with earnestness. "He always does this."

"You worry too much about him, as opposed to yourself." Daichi leaned forward and placed a hand on hers. Tenten's eyes shifted uncomfortably and she stilled. He cleared his throat and moved away, changing the subject as Tenten's eyes stared at her own hand, flexing her fingers.

"Are you ready to leave?" Daichi stood. The kunoichi read the tightness in his voice all too easily; he was hurt by her unwitting and shamefully instinctive rejection.

"Sure," she heard herself say faintly.

---x---

Later on that day, Tenten watched as Daichi prepared the raw fish, slicing it with expertise.

"I was thinking that we could go for a spar tomorrow." Daichi said, keeping his voice light.

"Oh?"

"Mmm. I need the practice."

"What about the house?"

There were still corners left dusty and unswept, the workroom was yet to be touched, and the backyard was still a tangle of vines.

"It can wait."

Daichi looked up and Tenten glanced away.

"Look at me." His voice was quiet but insistent. She met his gaze and found that she could no longer warm to the sparkle of life and love in his eyes- a hollow reflection in her own. After a few moments, he looked away and Tenten felt the heavy, hot guilt lick her insides.

Tomorrow would tell her what to do.

She was sure of it.

---x---

Tenten didn't sleep in Dai's arms that night, too aware of her own shame to feel that she had the right to touch him. However, when she woke, she found that she wasn't alone, waking with a violent jolt and a closed fist a bare hairsbreadth away from sensitive nose cartilage.

"You're having trouble sleeping."

Pause.

"Again."

Hesitation.

"I know."

"Dreams?"

Her eyes flashed hotly against his.

"_Guilt_."

"And I suppose it's my fault."

"Most entirely, I assure you."

"I don't suppose I'm not helping by sitting on your bed at five in the morning."

"Why are you here?"

"I left my jacket here. I hadn't supposed that you were going to take the liberty of returning it to me so I came to get it myself."

Tenten rolled her eyes and fell back onto the sheets with a loud exhale.

"Well you know how to get out my house, right?"

"We have a mission." Neji said. He had turned his back turned to her.

Tenten sat up once again.

"Really?" Her voice was bright and sunny and Neji had to refrain from smirking openly in her face.

"Well I don't know; we're leaving today, and-"

"Why wasn't I informed?"

"We had figured that you were too preoccupied, and Ino was going to take your place. However, she was struck ill this morning and Sakura's in no condition either."

"And I'm your last resort?"

"Pretty much. We leave in one and a half hours. Here are the mission statements and a list of things you'll need."

Tenten opened the scroll and began to read.

"And I'll meet you for breakfast in half an hour." The Hyuuga said abruptly.

The kunoichi looked up, startled, but the prodigy had already let himself out of her house via the window.

"Idiot," the kunoichi muttered to herself as she scanned the scroll. _The suspects were having… Shifty meetings in a club?!_ This was a C-rank surveillance mission; it was just a woman who was far too vain and insecure for her own good only starting to realise that her husband was fed up with her attitude and had been cheating on her long before she'd brought up the request. Still… she needed to get out of the house, away from Konoha for a while. It was just too bad that the mission was in Tanzaku city; she'd just have to avoid the bars and casinos in case one of her mother's friends- or worse; her mother- saw her.

---x---

Daichi woke to find Tenten lying on his chest, fully dressed.

"Well I don't suppose you've come to seduce me, dressed like that."

Tenten kissed him quickly on the lips. She was getting used to small actions of affection; but it seemed like that was all there was ever going to be between them- affectionate love.

"And why do I get the feeling that you're going to bail out on me?"

"… Because I have a mission?" Tenten smiled sheepishly.

"Ahh… I see." Daichi smiled as he leaned forward and kissed her back. "When do you leave?"

She settled down beside him.

"We leave at seven and we'll get to the city at around ten." Tenten murmured with a comfortable sigh.

"Tanzaku?"

"Yeah. I'll be tailing the guy and his supposed new girlfriend around for the day and apprehend them when the opportunity arises. Most likely when they're together in their hotel room after a night of clubbing or whatever."

"And you'll be going clubbing?"

"Apparently so." She rolled her eyes. "It's all about being inconspicuous and guys can always get in automatically when there's a girl with them. So I'm that girl."

"Ahh, well then. I have something you might want."

"Really?" Tenten rolled over as Daichi left the bed and rummaged through one of his recently cleaned and refilled drawers, filled with the wares he had made over the years and hadn't sold.

Daichi drew out a box made of pine and turned back to her, placing the box on the bed and opening the lid.

"I made these earlier this year. I was going to give them to you for your birthday but I forgot to take them out of the cart."

Tenten smiled and shook her head.

"You're a forgetful scatterbrain."

"And you're a lucky kunoichi. You'll be the first person to use this in the field. Hopefully, anyhow."

"And what is 'this'?"

Daichi handed her a set of six different coloured plastic bangles.

"Bangles?" Tenten shook them but there was no sound.

"You have the right idea, but it's not how it works." Daichi took the green one from her. "They open when you push in the catch and you snap it over your wrist like a cuff. However, if you slide open this side when the bangle is open, then you see what's inside, or you can put things in if you wish, like messages, poison and the like." Daichi revealed the exploding tag on the inside as he demonstrated.

Tenten smiled. "Thanks, Dai."

She stood and Daichi smiled back.

"Did you want to have breakfast?" He offered, moving towards the door.

"Oh, I've eaten."

"How about that spar?"

"I've packed away my weapons; I could need them, but it's unlikely."

"Well is there anything that I can do for you?"

"Other than shut up and kiss me for good luck-"

Tenten couldn't help but smile as she pulled away breathlessly from Daichi's kiss. It was selfish. She was a selfish person.

"I have to go meet up with my team." She said lamely, and left him standing in his bedroom with an open window.

---x---

It wasn't exactly a lie, as such; she had just kept that fact that she was meeting only _one _team mate from Daichi.

"I am lousy at justifying my actions," Tenten muttered to herself.

"I'll say," Neji quipped.

The weapons expert rolled her eyes.

They arrived at Ichiraku Ramen within a few minutes and Ayame yawned as she bid them good morning. She rubbed her eyes and her vision sharpened.

"Huh? You're here with Neji?"

"We have a mission." Tenten chose what she wanted and Ayame's father set about to making their meal.

"So… you and Dai are…"

"Still together." Neji finished for her, surprising everyone.

Tenten glared.

"Thanks for that."

"No problem."

"I can't believe I let you con me into this."

"I can't con you into anything; you let yourself be persuaded into this."

"Excuse me?"

"Aah, young love." The old man's words shocked them into silence. He smiled at them. "It's all fun and games right now, but give it time, and …"

"Dad!" Ayame hushed her father upon seeing the looks on the two team mate's faces; a strange, albeit amusing, mix of shock, disbelief upon the brink on hysterical laughter.

"Maybe I shouldn't have said anything, then." Ichiraku huffed quietly and retired to the back room to tidy up.

"I'm sorry about that-"

Tenten laughed, although it was far too high pitched to be natural. It eventually petered out into a pitiful whimper and she stopped, never before having felt so conscious about the awkward silence.

"I think we should leave now; we'll be late otherwise," Neji filled in without missing a beat.

Tenten blushed and thanked Ichiraku as she slid off the stool before following Neji.

The journey to Tanzaku was relatively uneventful; she and Neji didn't speak much, but after the morning's mortification, the pair didn't feel compelled to converse.

"Do you think you'll see her?"

"Who? My mother?"

Neji nodded.

"With any luck, no."

And that was all they spoke on the matter.

---x---

The pair checked into the hotel at ten thirty, in room fifty seven.

"Is she in the hotel?" Tenten asked him quietly. He checked room eighty one on the floor above- Tenten had glimpsed her mother's name at the hotel desk.

"No," Neji replied as he scanned the room. "But there are … clothes in the room. Clothes that belong to a man."

Neji stilled and reached for the file, scanning the contents.

"When did you say that she left Konoha, again?"

"Last week… on Sunday." She sat up, realisation hitting her. She gave him a sharp look. "No… really?"

"They left Konoha on Sunday. It could be a coincidence but don't get your hopes up too high that it's not her."

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for the comfort, Hyuuga." She muttered rebelliously as she threw her suitcase into her room, removed her forehead protector and changed her clothes quickly, Neji doing likewise.

"No problem. Now are you ready to track this couple?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Tenten muttered and they left the hotel through the window.

They navigated their way through Tanzaku city methodically, checking casinos and bars for the man. So far, they hadn't seen him or Mai- but it wasn't a welcome relief.

Finally, at around eleven, they found the man- something or other Ichiro (all rational thought flew from Tenten's mind) and his new mistress…

That was when Tenten realised that the shirt looked very familiar. She had ironed it the previous week.

"My mother?!?!" Tenten whispered disbelievingly. She unconsciously took a step forward and Neji placed a firm hand on her arm.

"This is a _surveillance_ mission!" He hissed in her ear.

"I think I'm going to be _sick_."

"Tenten!" Neji gripped her shoulders tightly and forced her to look into his eyes. "You're a shinobi of Konoha! Show no emotion. Be resilient and remain detached."

"She's my _mother_!" Tenten retorted. "What else can I do?"

"Pretend that you are someone else. Tsukino Miyako or whatever your name was."

"If you were the loving boyfriend, Masuyo Ryota, you said that you were, you'd realise that my name is Tsukiko Minako," Tenten snapped, taking her attention away from the other couple.

Neji shrugged. "You'll get over it."

"So what are we going to do? We've found them; we'll know where they'll be tonight."

"The objective was to _identify_ the woman and arrest the husband on grounds of adultery."

"And what about the _woman_?" Tenten asked in a heated voice.

"What _about_ her, Tenten?" Neji snapped, raising his voice against her for the first time in her life. "What do _you_ want to do about it? It seems to me that you're more concerned about confronting your mother on this issue, and that matters more to you than my opinion on what to do!"

Silence fell, and the kunoichi did not look at him once for the rest of the day, even as they had lunch in a trendy café.

"You _are_ the team leader, after all." Tenten replied in a far from submissive voice as they walked back to the hotel behind the couple, a few hours later.

"Don't insult me with that. Get over it," he replied harshly. They stepped into the elevator, making the attendant uncomfortable in the awkward silence.

They entered the room and Tenten settled down on the bed again with a heavy sigh. Neji sat down at the desk and began to fill out the reports.

"We have identified the third party as Ling Mai; age thirty two-"

"Thirty one," Tenten corrected in a monotone.

"Thirty _one_," Neji amended after a smooth strike through. "Occupation…?"

"House wife, but that's not even an occupation." Tenten grumbled. "Single mother, daughter is completely embarrassed to no end that she had to find out another way. I mean, who does she think she is, sneaking around behind my back? I am _sixteen_! I am mature enough to handle things like this!"

"Obviously not, seeing as your reaction is nothing short of immature."

"That's rich, coming from you."

Neji rolled his eyes. "I'm going to take a shower. We're leaving after dinner; when they're leaving in a couple of hours, or so, by all accounts."

"And whose accounts are they? Has someone else been surveying them already?"

"I told you that!" Neji snapped.

"And they didn't identify her earlier?"

"Apparently not. Didn't you read the mission plans?"

His words were met with a blank stare.

"I guess not," he said loftily as he went into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

---x---

A few hours later, at around nine thirty, the two pairs set out- one couple in animated and flirtatious banter with hands roaming freely across smooth skin. The latter were walking in a hostile silence.

Mai and Ichiro had not noticed the pair following them around all day, and they weren't about to start, especially as they started drinking clear spirits and cocktails once inside the club. However, the man's hired shinobi had been trailing them all day and had noticed the pair more than once. Seeing them there tonight would confirm their suspicions that Neji and Tenten had some kind of connection with Ichiro's wife in Konoha.

Tenten had opted to wear a short, strapless, slinky black dress that swished about her thighs as she walked, small shimmering particles reflecting the smoky light inside the room. Bangles adorned her wrists to add a splash of colour, accentuated by jade green nail polish and eyeliner. Neji blended in well with a black open collared shirt with the cuffs rolled back and indigo denim jeans.

They leaned on the bar and ordered drinks. The Hyuuga leaned in and whispered in her ear, placing a warm hand on her naked shoulder.

"They're in the VIP booth."

Tenten's eyes slid over to where her mother sat, coyly flirting with a man who was married to someone else. As she rolled her eyes skyward, she noticed something else.

"He has hired ninja following his every move, right?" Tenten asked quietly, momentarily forgetting her fight with the Hyuuga. "They know that we've been following them."

"When did you notice that?"

"Just then, thank you very much."

Neji smirked as the bartender slid across their drinks.

"Underage drinking?" Tenten murmured.

"It's all for the sake of blending i-." Neji's retort was cut short as he leaned forward to capture Tenten's lips, his arms sliding around her lithe frame and pulling her closer as his fingers greedily intertwined in her silken chestnut hair. Tenten responded just as warmly, feeling a thrill of excitement at his weight on top of her as he pushed her closer into the cool bench top. Her hands slipped just beneath his untucked shirt and she pawed at skin and toned muscle as she felt him enter her mouth, his tongue touching hers. Her heart sped up and she could tell that Neji's was beating twice as fast when her fingers brushed his neck. Her leg instinctively hooked around his and she shuddered as his warm hands caressed her skin.

They broke away for air and Neji's eyes snapped immediately to where the two other shinobi were standing. They had relaxed significantly thanks to the drinks their boss had provided for them and their gaze no longer rested only on Neji and Tenten.

Tenten pulled him down to her as her lips brushed his ear.

"Are they still watching?" Her voice was breathless and husky.

"Not anymore, they aren't."

Tenten took a sip of the drink, feeling the fire of the alcohol spread through her limbs.

"My mother?"

"You don't want to know." Neji's voice was light and yet Tenten tensed, her fingers making marks on his arms. "This is what we do. You go talk to Ichiro and I'll go talk to your mother, as soon as she leaves that booth."

"How do I get past those bouncers and the shinobi?"

"I think you have more than enough tricks up your sleeve… or, you know, bangles."

"Or I could just change my appearance."

She downed the rest of the drink, Neji doing likewise.

"Whatever you like." Neji shrugged and they moved off, leaving their drinks on the bar to be taken away by the bartender.

Neji placed his hand on hers as she led the way through the crowd of dancing people, never feeling more aware of the thrum of his heart meeting the deep bass notes of the music that reverberated through his bones. A few older teenage girls, aged from eighteen to nineteen glanced appreciatively his way but Neji ignored them, concentrating more on the way the fabric swished provocatively around Tenten's mid thighs as her clearly defined hips swayed. She turned, pulling him to her with mirth evident in her eyes.

"I think you've had more than enough time to ogle at my backside, Neji!"

"For your information, I was just staring at your hemline."

Tenten turned her back to him, and the fabric of that hemline brushed his palm and his fingertips came into contact with skin. The kunoichi grinned as she heard him gulp.

"_Just _my hemline?"

Neji could only nod as she turned back around, her eyes clashing against his with a challenge.

"And you're sure about that?"

Tenten draped her arms about his shoulder as she moved up against his body.

"Hands on my waist, please," she murmured in his ear as she glanced, from under eyelashes up at the booth. The couple were no where to be seen.

Neji chuckled.

"They're standing about a metre away. I don't know if you want to see your mother right now."

"Stop laughing at me," she replied calmly, "Or I will walk out and leave you to handle this on your own."

"That would involve you walking in the opposite direction, would it not?"

"Pervert. That's almost at my underarms, Neji. My hips are a bit lower."

"Who would have guessed?" Neji asked sardonically as he pressed his lips to her neck, gently pushing her so she could see. The kunoichi nearly fell over herself, if not for Neji's firm grip on her hips.

"Who would have guessed, indeed?" Tenten whispered as she watched her mother, no less, sway with the music.

"I see where you get it from, now."

"What?"

"That way you kind of just… shake your hips and I don't know."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were _blushing_." Tenten's voice was made all the more sweet by her smile.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that _you_ were the one blushing."

"Liar."

"Hypocrite."

The song changed, and Tenten squeaked.

"That's just a bit too low, Hyuuga!"

Neji smirked and Tenten twisted a chunk of his hair and pulled his head back as her lips briefly caressed his Adam's apple. The prodigy winced at the sudden pain.

"You seem to be enjoying this too much." He shook his hair free of her hands.

"You guess correctly," Tenten replied, slightly out of breath as she turned her back to him to take more than just a split second glance at her mother. She turned away and walked off abruptly, fiddling with her bangles, Neji following her.

"What is it?" He asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'll talk to you about it later. Keep an eye on my mother, will you- and don't scare her too much. It'd be best if you changed or something." Tenten eased out a smoke pellet from the purple bangle and threw it into the crowd. Within seconds, the floor was emptied and people were screaming and fumbling for an exit. The kunoichi kept sight of Ichiro and placed a firm hand on his back as she pushed him out the back door into the alleyway.

The man had fine features- she had been able to see that from the photo, but in person, he was good looking, and breathtakingly so.

"You're a bit young, aren't you?" He asked slyly, his eyes roaming her body. He was used to attention and she could see that.

"I'm old enough to know about some things." She moved up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and her mouth was near his ear. "I know… about your wife. And I know… that my mother does not need you!" She punched him in the face and he fell to the ground and sprung back up.

"_You're_ Mai's daughter? You've been following her?"

"Trust me, I did not want this mission." Tenten snarled, opening the yellow bangle.

"Tenten, believe me, I need to talk to you about something-"

"Talk to me when I'm not wearing a dress that is shorter than a towel." She pushed him up against the wall with a powerful shove and deftly wrapped the wire around his wrists. "Don't tell my mother that it was me. I will talk to her about it later. With any luck, you won't be seeing me ever again."

She hesitated, before finishing.

"Stay away from her, Ichiro. She doesn't need a man like you in her life. I know where you live and I know so many things that could destroy your reputation, your family and your life." She pulled the wire taut and his breath caught. "I trust that I don't have to talk to you again, about this." Tenten said coldly, and knocked him out by pressing several pressure points. Ichiro slumped in her arms and Tenten hoisted him over her shoulder before taking him to the rendezvous point.

---x---

"Nice dress, Tenten." Kotetsu's smile was genuine and she smiled back as she dumped her burden on the ground.

"This old thing?" She twirled for him. "Ahh, it was just something I had, lying around."

"It suits you. I'll bet Neji had fun."

"Oh yeah," Tenten replied offhandedly. "It wasn't such a big deal for him."

"Your lip gloss is a bit smudged, your lips are swollen and your hair looks like you've just been kissing for a good half hour. It doesn't take long to draw a conclusion that you and Neji have done more than just dance tonight. You might want to fix that before you get back to the hotel," Kotetsu winked and Tenten blushed furiously and rubbed at her mouth while hurriedly running her fingers through her hair. "Have a good night, Ten."

"Don't you mean goodnight?"

"Not particularly." He turned his back to her and waved.

---x---

It wasn't until she got to the balcony that she realised the enormity of what she'd told Ichiro. Neji sensed her confusion and drew her into the room, into the warmth and light.

"I just told a man… who made my mother the happiest I have ever seen her… to stay out of her life. Have I made a mistake?"

"No. He was cheating on his wife. Any man who would willingly and so easily break his vows… would easily give into temptation again. If not with your mother, with another woman."

"And my mother… what did you tell her?"

"That the man she was seeing was cheating on the woman he was still married to. With three other women, and she was just one of them. That… she should go and find her friends to spend the night with, and then go home when she was ready and tell her daughter."

"How did she take it?"

"She slapped me and cried and clung to me… and then she realised that I smelt like you. But I told her that she was drunk and one of her friends came to take her away."

"I'm sorry." Tenten looked away. "And since when do I have a smell?"

"Since you're you."

"And what do I smell like?" She asked, moving close to him, just to be near something warm.

"You smell like… lilies."

She draped her arms around him and forgot about Daichi as she pulled Neji into a passionate kiss, her mind hazed over by the liquor she had consumed. It wasn't much… but she was overwrought.

"Neji?" she asked him between kisses. "Neji? What are we doing?"

"We're pretending."

"What are we pretending?" Tenten felt his lips ghost over her chin.

"We're pretending that we need to fit in with everyone else again."

He walked backwards and they fell onto the bed. Tenten froze and broke away.

"I can't," was all she said. Neji understood, and moved his lips away from hers. He turned out the lights and she fumbled with zips and bangle buckles with numb fingers as he struggled with buttons and laces.

They slipped under his covers in scant clothing.

"Neji?" Tenten's voice was husky yet again. "Thank you, for this…"

Silence fell and his breathing fell into regular patterns, as Tenten whispered, "I'm sorry."

He held her like he had when they had been so much younger and she had someone else's blood on her hands.


	20. Broken

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any affiliates. Daichi, however, is mine. **

**A Blossom with Reason **

_By Tanya Lilac_

**Broken**

It had been a little more than three years since she had woken up in a hotel room with Neji's arms around her, but it still felt the same. She felt calmed, like he had siphoned off all of her emotions.

"Morning."

"Hey." Tenten shivered against the morning chill and Neji pulled the sheets up a bit higher. As the fabric settled, she raised her fingertips to trace the curse seal upon his forehead, lingering momentarily before swiftly brushing over the rest of his features. Any kind of boyish features his face had once retained had been stripped away, leaving a strong jaw but a fine forehead. His eyes were as penetrable as ever, but there was a quality to them now that she had never witnessed when they had been younger. They seemed to hold more… contentment. There was no longer a drive for such fierce revenge, only a desire to fulfil a dream; his own.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing," Tenten smiled. "Not much, anyway."

"You're hiding something, again." Neji commented.

She shrugged. "Probably."

"I keep thinking promise when I look into your eyes."

Tenten blinked and her eyes hardened.

"Or maybe you're just suffering from anxiety."

"Anxiety over what?"

"You tell me."

"Stop playing hard to get, Neji."

"Ahh, well, you see- that's not the problem here; you're lying in a hotel bed with me, pretty much naked, and you're the one being somewhat ambiguous."

"All of the men in Konoha would willingly give anything to be in your situation."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Neji teased.

"_Egotistic_ bastard."

Neji smirked down at her, taking in her features. Smooth, unblemished skin, high cheekbones and she had long since lost the chubbiness she had once possessed, giving her face a more angular and mature stance. She had changed, that was for sure.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Tenten asked, tilting her head to the side. "It's like you haven't seen me in years or something."

"I haven't had the time to ogle at you openly."

"Oh, like you haven't had the time to ogle at my hemline openly before last night?"

"Your hemline usually ends mid calf and the fact that you wear pants means that I don't see anything."

"That's the exact reason why, Neji." She replied loftily.

Neji's thumbs brushed over her eyelids and they came away with a light powdering of eye shadow and kohl.

Tenten gasped.

"I look like a prostitute, don't I?" She cursed colourfully fell out of the bed with an undignified 'oof!'

"That was coordinated," She muttered as she winced and stood, wrapping the sheet around her and leaving Neji on the bed in only his boxers.

"You know, you look stupid in those boxers. Why do you have _smiley faces_ on them?"

"You're looking at my crotch? Wow, I'm honoured." He retorted sarcastically.

"Oh, get _over_ yourself." The weapons expert retorted tartly, picking up his jeans and throwing them in his face (incidentally, he was slapped on the cheek by the heavy fabric), and proceeded to trip on her way out of the room.

Neji repressed a snort of amusement.

---x---

Tenten emerged from the bathroom, once more the austere and practical kunoichi. Her nails were inconspicuously clean and her hair was twisted up into their customary buns, much to Neji's disappointment.

"Breakfast?" He gestured at the meal set out on the table and she sat down, making her way through the French toast, grilled tomatoes, egg white omelette, fruit and coffee with no difficulty.

"The joys of room service," she sighed, staring out the window.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not too good," Tenten admitted. "I'm dreading returning home. Part of me wants to go talk to my mother but the other part… just wants to ignore it."

"And what about him?"

"Dai?" Tenten felt heat rise to her cheeks as she thought of the intimate kisses they had shared the previous night.

Neji seemed to be thinking the same thing and he cleared his throat, rearranging the items on his plate.

"Well, I don't know. I promised him a spar, and… well, I don't know what next."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes." She answered without hesitation.

"And are you in love with him?"

Silence.

Neji leaned forward, placing his chin on steeped fingers.

"So you _don't_."

She looked away, sitting back heavily in her chair.

"Don't tell him." She murmured as she turned angrily blazing eyes back to him. "And if you use it against me, in any way, I will make sure that you regret it."

Neji held up his hands in a placating manner and the kunoichi backed down, cutting up her omelette in a vicious fashion.

"And your mother?"

"I, like every other human being, will ask her how her trip went. Whether or not she wants to breach the subject, I'll leave to her."

"How will you explain your arrival in Konoha if you get home after her?"

"I will tell her the truth. That my mission was a simple C-Rank surveillance and that I'd had to travel out of Konoha for the day."

Neji nodded and Tenten picked up her cup of coffee.

"So do you still miss talking to me?"

"Not any more." Neji smirked and the kunoichi rolled her eyes. It was just like old times.

---x---

Tenten unlocked the door and took one look at her mother inside the living room.

"How was your trip?" She asked.

"Good…" Mai replied uncertainly.

"Good."

Tenten took a deep breath and walked past her mother into her room.

A few minutes later, Mai knocked timidly on her door.

"Tenten?"

"It's open."

Mai crept into the room with a shaky smile.

"I think you're old enough to know, now, about… well, what happens when you fall in love with someone."

Tenten did not look up when Mai sat down on the bed, beside her.

"It's… something you never forget," Mai said quietly. "But as time goes on, the sense of it fades a little bit and becomes hazy. And when you meet someone who brings out that spark again and sweeps you off your feet with such passion, you just get swept away."

"Why are you telling me all this, now? Are you in love with someone?"

"I thought I was."

"Did something happen in Tanzaku?"

"Do you remember, on your birthday, when we had that fashion parade? I met this guy… called Ichiro. And it was so exciting, he was handsome, he was beautifully mannered and he made me feel so happy- happier than I've been in a very long time." Mai looked down for a few moments. "And when he proposed that we take a small trip to Tanzaku city, I was so excited- I was singing in the shower, humming… I just couldn't wait for the next time I could see him."

Tenten smiled. She had remembered these small events, but hadn't thought too much about them at the time.

"Why didn't you tell me then?"

"I just thought that it would be a shock for you; and we had only been together for a little while… and, well… I guess it all turned out for the better."

Mai sighed.

"When we went to Tanzaku… I found out last night that Ichiro had a wife. And two other girlfriends. And I didn't believe it. I didn't want to. And then, for some reason, I thought of you, and I knew that I couldn't hide it from you anymore, and that I couldn't keep up a relationship. And suddenly, everything made sense; why he would only meet with me late at night, or why he always insisted that I never called him…"

"Are you sad?"

"I was, to begin with, but then I realised it wasn't love. It was just… lust. I wanted to feel like someone wanted me for who I was, and I just jumped at the opportunity."

"You could have told me, you know. I would have been fine with it." Tenten's voice did not quaver.

"I know that now." Mai replied with a shaky smile. She kissed Tenten's forehead and left the room.

---x---

A few nights later, Tenten woke to hear the sounds of two people talking quietly in the kitchen. Her senses were sharp and she knew who the other voice was. She rose silently from her bed, sliding a katana out of its sheath as she walked past it, its song deadly and shrill. Her door opened soundlessly and she crept into the unlit hallway, and looked past the archway into the kitchen.

Ichiro stood there, kissing her mother, his hands inching closer to the skin of her midriff.

"Ichiro." Tenten's voice was quiet, deadly.

Mai blushed and turned around, but Ichiro jumped back at seeing the steely look in her eyes... along with her bared katana.

"Now, Tenten. I know what this looks like… but it's not what you think!"

"Don't patronise me." Her eyes narrowed fractionally and Ichiro gulped.

"Tenten, please, put away the katana." Mai put up her hand.

"No. He needs to get out of here, now."

"He came to apologise." Mai tried to reason with her resolute daughter.

"And people do normally apologise with their tongues," Tenten retorted shrewdly.

"I love her, Tenten." Ichiro said boldly, sensing that Tenten was on the losing side.

"You love her like you 'love' your wife?"

Ichiro and Mai both stilled.

"What's her name? Kasumi, wasn't it? She's beautiful, she's wealthy and the two of you had the best whirlwind fling of a lifetime. Her mother never approved but that was what made it all the more addictive… the late night sessions, and finally, you eloped. All was fine for a couple of years and then you began to stray. Kasumi's money was more to you than she ever was. You used her funds and her jewels to sway other women to your side, to your _bed_. You never loved her." Tenten spat, her grip on the katana tightening. "Men like you… deserve whatever that comes to you."

"Tenten, please-"

"Mother," Tenten turned to face Mai. "You were always so protective of me- you never wanted me to get burned like you did, or make the same mistakes- whatever mistakes they were. You loved my father- and, although I have no objection to you dating other men, I can't help but disapprove of a married man. You told me yourself that it was just lust…"

"Well maybe Mai didn't tell you the whole story," Ichiro smirked.

"You're standing here, in our home." Tenten said quietly. "You're standing in the middle of our kitchen, kissing my mother. I don't care if you came under the pretence of saying goodbye or apologising in order to persuade her to start up your relationship again."

Ichiro flinched.

"Yes," Tenten laughed coldly, bringing up the katana slightly. "You really are _that_ transparent. Step away from her now."

Ichiro backed away some more.

"Now, I do believe that you received a very wise piece of advice in Tanzaku city. Why, Ichiro, aren't you following that piece of advice?"

"I love her," he repeated. His words had no effect on Tenten.

"You don't." Tenten hissed, walking forward. "You're just using her, just like you're using your wife's money. As soon as you're done, you're just going to drop her, like you dropped Yukiko."

Ichiro's eyes looked frantically for an exit.

"There's a door behind you. Get out." Tenten lifted the katana into an offensive stance. "_Now_."

The man yelped and left, running out into the night. The kunoichi set the katana down on the table and sat down on the stool next to her mother.

"Why did you do that?" Mai asked her quietly.

"He's a liar. And he deserves whatever punishment his wife is going to give him."

"How did you know him?"

"You told me, this afternoon."

"But… you didn't look surprised when you saw him; and it was almost like you two recognised each other."

"Just… go to sleep." She turned away to go back to her room.

"Tenten, _tell me_!"

Tenten stopped walking.

"I was assigned a mission. A mission to track a man who was unfaithful to his wife who would be in Tanzaku city for a week. He would be with his new mistress who needed to be identified. That was all I was told before hand, but when I found out it was you… I hadn't wanted the mission. I hadn't wanted to find out this way, but I did. I followed you two to the club, and after you two got separated, I went after Ichiro and I talked to him and Kotetsu brought him back to Konoha."

Mai swallowed, absorbing the information with a shuttered face. She had long before closed herself off- even to her daughter.

"And so… you gave him that bruise?"

"Yes. He was trying to hit on me." Tenten's voice was just as cold and detached as her mother's; they both knew where she got it from.

Without a further word, Tenten picked up her katana and went back into her room, and slipped the blade back into its sheath.

Dawn took forever to come.

---x---

"I still can't believe the odds," Daichi looked at her incredulously. "You were sent to spy on your mother!"

"I know, it's really, well, coincidental."

"Maybe it was fate."

Tenten shrugged, although the mention of the word sent a shiver down her spine.

"I still feel kind of… guilty about what I did. I mean, the look on her face. She was just so crushed when I told her about it- it was like she was never going to speak to me again."

They threw down their bags and began to stretch and prepare themselves for their spar.

"She'll get over it."

"Yeah, I know that, but… it was just seeing them, in Tanzaku, they were so happy together. And, disturbing as it was, she was happy for the first time in a long while. And I mean it. Sometimes, I just can't help but wonder if she's only sad because of the way that I live my life…"

"Don't think things like that. They'll only drag you down."

"I know, but I always just… wonder. Like also what life would be like if my father was still alive. Maybe she'd be happier then. Your parents were always happy; it seemed like, even after so many years of being together, they were still in love."

Tenten flexed her fingers as she picked up her katana, one in each hand. Daichi did likewise.

"Yes, but you're forgetting that my mother was younger than yours when she had me."

"Oh... How old was she?"

"Thirteen, believe it or not."

Tenten didn't doubt him; the custom of arranged marriages still existed in many countries and in many cases, girls from the age of thirteen were often married off to men more than three times their age.

"It was an arranged marriage that had worked to her and my father's favour. Although he was eighteen at the time… they were desperately in love and had been having a secret relationship behind their parents' backs."

That, however _was _news.

"They ended up swaying the matchmaker to tell their parents that he would be a very compatible suitor- so compatible that he was her true love. And, well, they got married and everyone ended up incredibly happy; my grandparents had the dowry and all of their assets were safe from greedier families…"

"Well, I guess it was a happily ever after for them."

"Not in the end, but everything else… they still loved each other so much. They'd only been together for thirteen years but it was more like a lifetime for them. It could have happened any day and they wouldn't have had any regrets- my mother told me so… but I think their only regret was that they'd left me. They knew I could take care of myself, but we were…"

"A family." Tenten finished for him, in a soft voice, her eyes hidden from him as she looked away.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

A silence fell, and Daichi covered it up with a slight cough.

"Well, do you want to start?"

Tenten waited for him to begin and blocked the feeble parry he sent her way, twisting the blade and nicking him sharply on the inner arm.

"Daichi, don't offend me, please." She eyed him wickedly and he blushed, and their spar began in earnest, stories of the past forgotten.

The first five minutes were intense, each testing the other and measuring up their opponent with cool, calculating thoughts.

_Footwork is good but he's trying to hide it_, Tenten thought, watching as his feet moved with lithe skill, hindered minimally by the grass. The grip on the katana was perfect; his positions were precise and every stance executed perfectly. His blade met hers every time her katana moved, and vice-versa.

"You've gotten better." Daichi remarked.

"I can't say the same for you," Tenten smirked.

"Been hanging around Neji too much, again." He sighed with melancholy, but his eyes never left hers. He was trying to find a gap in her armour and he knew it was in her eyes.

They flickered to the left for a brief moment, and his katana met hers in a flurry of sparks, but she pushed off his arm, sliding back in the dirt a few metres behind him, but she was running before she hit the ground with another chakra boost to propel her into the air.

The air whistled in her ears and then she landed on the ground, sweeping out her foot, but Daichi had seen that coming, and he, too, jumped up off the ground, sweeping out his katana swiftly, but Tenten's keen ears had picked up the slight croon the metal gave off in its swift descent.

A smile graced Daichi's face as he saw the concentration in her fierce gaze.

"Threatened?"

A brief grin lit up her eyes.

"Challenged. But never for long."

She feinted, but Daichi had read her movements too easily- she was being predictable and Daichi knew her stances just like she knew Neji's.

However, when Tenten reached into her arsenal of wires, exploding tags, senbon, kunai, shuriken, smoke and flash bombs, along with a few chakra strings, and Daichi began to counter with plants, things got very interesting.

The kunoichi was loath to leave the open field, for if they moved deeper into the trees, Daichi would be able to control more of the elements around them- but she needed the cover of the shadows to weave webs and set traps.

Tying together a smoke, pepper and flash bomb behind her back, Tenten flung it at Daichi before jumping backwards into the dense foliage with a feline smile on her face.

It had been a while since she'd had a proper spar, and something told her it would be a long game of cat-and-mouse in the shadows of the ancient trees of Konoha.

---x---

The kunoichi didn't return home for some time, content to lie within the shade of an old tree with Daichi sitting beside her. Both were nursing a few minor cuts, grazes and bruises, with the most major wound dealt that day by Tenten's katana, resulting in a downward slash on Daichi's right arm. It was fairly shallow but had bled quite a bit; she had quickly and expertly bandaged it up after washing and applying a healing salve to the gash.

"I think I could sit here forever." Daichi's voice was quiet amidst the leaves.

"Ahh, that's just the blood loss talking." Tenten smiled.

"I didn't lose _that_ much blood!"

"Are you sure? You seem a little woozy."

"Don't be so motherly. It's freaking me out."

Tenten's expression sobered and she cleared her throat.

"Listen, Dai… there's something I never told you… about that mission I went on when I was a Genin."

"The escort to Suna?" Daichi had read the tension in her voice perfectly.

"Well, you see, the thing is… when we arrived in Suna in the hotel room, Lee and Gai-sensei went out for the night."

Tenten couldn't meet Daichi's eyes.

"And, when they left, Neji and I had a… moment. Nothing happened; I didn't even kiss him, but… And I woke up in his arms the next morning."

"Well, it happened three years ago; I don't see any harm in that-"

"There's more."

Daichi did not release the breath that he had been holding. Tenten kept her voice cool and professional like it had all been happening to someone else.

"When we went to Tanzaku… he kissed me."

"He kissed you." Daichi echoed dully.

"We were in the club, we were kind of drinking, my dress was way too short and I could barely hear him… and he told me it was just to throw off Ichiro's ninja."

She hesitated before continuing.

"And I kissed him back… and later, when we were in the hotel. Nothing happened… but so _easily_, I just kept turning back to him." She met his eyes levelly. "But I'm not worthy of you… or him."

"I don't understand-"

"I love you, Daichi." She said simply. "I'm just not _in _love with you. Do you understand? I need you to understand that I care for you deeply. But I'm not worthy of you because of the way that you feel about me. Because I can never return your feelings with that depth and passion that you unwaveringly show me."

"So what are you going to do? Are you going to Neji?"

"No. I can't. He's a team mate; first and foremost. I can't risk a friendship for a few days, weeks or months of pure idiocy."

"I understand." He withdrew from her.

The would not waste time with anymore apologies; and she left him in the shade of the tree.

---x---

Both mother and daughter lacked anything to say to one another that evening at the dining table. By nature, however, both were very loquacious and couldn't sustain the frosty silence for long.

"He's not here." Mai said coolly. Tenten didn't take the bait.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, seeing as though you were the one finding about my personal life, I see it as fair that you tell me now." Mai snapped.

Tenten bristled, her eyes radiating blatant hostility. "I didn't ask to find out! As I see it, you told me voluntarily, anyway."

"I have a choice; you don't."

Tenten sighed.

"I broke up with Daichi and that's all there is to it." She muttered sullenly.

"That's all there is?" Mai asked smugly, knowing it for a lie.

"Well… there's someone. Someone else. I'm not telling you his name, but it's a bit of a problem, and it's because of him that I broke up with Dai now and not later."

"Hyuuga Neji?"

Tenten concealed her surprise and she merely inclined her head with a vague, "Perhaps. Either way, it was never going to work out because his feelings for me were stronger than I could have ever reciprocated; it was almost unrequited, but… I still see him as more of a brother than a boyfriend."

"Something happened to you!" Mai said triumphantly. "I saw you at that club! I remember thinking that dress was gorgeous- I love how the lace flows- and you … and you were kissing someone."

Tenten looked away.

"You were cheating on him?"

"Never. It was just to throw off Ichiro's shinobi. Hadn't you noticed them following you? Surely, you saw them."

Mai would not be distracted. "You left Daichi for Neji?"

"No. I left Daichi because of myself- and have no intention whatsoever in initiating any kind of intimate relationship with Hyuuga Neji."

"You two seemed a bit more than intimate at the club." Mai retorted with sarcasm.

"It was a bit of alias work. He was supposed to be my boyfriend."

"And I can see that he took that seriously."

"Oh, whatever." Tenten smiled as she pushed away the cleaned plate.

"You really like him, don't you?"

"It's closer to admiration. Beyond a friendship, there is nothing there!"

"I'd never let my friend kiss me the way he kissed you unless he had solid intentions to take things further."

"Ahh, well, I guess we just see things differently. There's a clear line that we draw between professional and unprofessional."

"So he's never tried to kiss you at any other time than when on a mission?"

"No," Tenten lied.

"You're lying. I can tell." Mai smiled. "You're good at being evasive and lying, but you can never lie to me."

"That's only when you're trying to catch me out for a lie, though." Tenten replied tartly.

Mai smiled.

"You know, I know a lot of your friends put down most of your shinobi traits down to your father. Your skill with metal and knives, resilience and physical strength, yes, but… your strong sense of intuition and your analytical nature… you get that from me. I don't use it much, but I can piece together a situation quickly when I need to."

"Why didn't you become a kunoichi, then?"

"I didn't have the skill; all I had was my head and intuition. Your talents are both a blessing and a curse, and I understand the way that you feel about your job." Her voice hardened. "But I don't think I need to tell you that if I ever catch you with any boy like that ever again before you turn eighteen, I will skin you and whoever that boy is, Hyuuga or not, alive!"

Tenten smiled sweetly.

"I don't think I'll ever rush into a situation like that voluntarily. You don't need to worry about me."

"And that's why I worry," Mai muttered as she left the room.

Tenten smiled, leaning back in her chair. It had been a strange day, to say the least. She could only hope that Daichi was okay. He had taken it in his stride, as always… but, she still worried.

---x---

The next day, she got her answer. Daichi had packed up again and moved to the other side of Konoha. A brief and impersonal note addressed to Tenten explained in clipped tones that the house was too big for one person and had too many ghosts, anyway.

Tenten slipped the note into her drawer beneath the crystal necklace. She sighed. She and Dai weren't together anymore; but it still didn't alleviate the guilt.

"I'm not happy about what I did, Neji." She snapped, turning around. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you," he replied. "You said you needed someone to talk to. I saw Daichi and, well, he looked angry enough to kill me. I can't blame him."

"Get over yourself." Tenten groaned, but the fact that Neji had said Daichi's name was disconcerting more than anything else. "You're enjoying this, aren't you? I didn't break up with Daichi for you, so you can leave now and stop trying to seduce me with those looks that you think are sultry."

Neji smirked as he walked into the room and leaned on the window sill.

"Yes. That's the sultry face, if you needed to prove your point. You should try looking at yourself in a mirror one day while doing that; you'll laugh. Now get out, I have things to do." She snapped, unsheathing two katana.

"Are you up for a spar?"

"No, I'm cleaning these and I've already talked to my mother about all of this. So get lost- I don't need your help today."

He turned away.

"Oh, and Daichi? Neji stopped wearing holsters." Tenten grinned as the chakra dispelled and Daichi stood there, scowling at her. "I'd give you points for trying, but it's not going to work this time."

"I thought it was worth a try."

"Are you angry at me?" Tenten asked, shyly.

"Never." He hugged her briefly. "But I should go… I just came to get the rest of my stuff."

"Where are you living now?"

"Oh, on the other side of Konoha. You should come and visit some time."

"Yeah. Maybe." She forced a smile.

He bowed, a solemn expression on his face.

"Goodbye, Tenten."

****


End file.
